Sean "Diddy" Combs Ordered to Pay More
Than $100 Million in Sexual Assault Case.
Sean "Diddy" Combs was ordered by a Michigan
judge to pay over $100 million to Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, who sued the rapper for allegedly
drugging and sexually assaulting him in 1997.
Sean "Diddy" Combs has been ordered
to pay up in his legal battle.
The rapper was ordered by a judge in
Michigan's Lenawee County Circuit Sept. 9 to pay over $100 million to Michigan
inmate Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, according to court records viewed by E! News.
Judge Anna Marie Anzalone granted Cardello-Smith's motion for default judgment after Combs did not
appear for the Sept. 9 virtual hearing, according to the local outlet Detroit Metro Times.
Cardello-Smith encountered the music mogul while working at a Detroit-area restaurant
in 1997, according to his lawsuit against Combs obtained by Variety. The two men went to a
party where they began having sex with two women when Combs allegedly touched Cardello-Smith.
Cardello-Smith—who told Detroit Metro Times he is a self-taught student of civil and criminal
statutes—then accused Combs of drugging his drink so he passed out, saying Combs later sexually
assaulted him that evening, per the lawsuit.
Per public inmate records, Cardello-Smith is
currently serving jail time on 12 sentences related to criminal sexual conduct and
two sentences related to kidnapping.
Following the judgment, Combs'
attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a statement. that Cardello-Smith is solely
looking to defraud the Bad Boys Record founder.
"This man is a convicted felon and
sexual predator," the lawyer said, "who has been sentenced on 14 counts of sexual
assault and kidnapping over the last 26 years."
He continued, "His resume now includes
committing a fraud on the court from prison, as Mr. Combs has never heard of
him let alone been served with any lawsuit. Mr. Combs looks forward to
having this judgment swiftly dismissed."
Cardello-Smith's lawsuit is the latest
in a long line of legal troubles for Combs, who has been sued by six women—including
ex-girlfriend Cassie—for sexual assault and abuse, allegations which the 54-year-old has denied.
Cassie's lawsuit was settled in November 2023.
Recently, his ex Yung Miami—whom he dated
off and on between 2021 and 2023—spoke out about her own time with the rapper.
"I can't speak on something that wasn't my experience," the City Girls rapper
explained during an August episode of her REVOLT series Caresha Please. "I can't
speak on something that I don't know. I can't speak on these allegations because I wasn't
around at the time. I don't know that person, and that wasn't my experience."
She added that as "all these things came out I just needed to take
a break and focus on what's important."