close
close

Sean Combs accused of threatening to kill a woman and hanging her from a balcony

Sean Combs accused of threatening to kill a woman and hanging her from a balcony

Sean Combs in 2012 - Source: Getty Images

Sean Combs in 2012 – Source: Getty Images

The woman filed a lawsuit Sean “Diddy” Combs for allegedly threatening to kill her and hanging her from a 17th-floor balcony, according to court documents obtained by Rolling Stone.

Fashion designer Bryana “Bana” Bongolan filed a 17-page lawsuit in Los Angeles this week against Combs for, among other things, sexual battery, infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment. Bongolan is seeking $10 million in damages for the lasting emotional distress she claims she experienced.

More from Rolling Stone

Bongolan claims she witnessed numerous incidents of violence between Combs and his girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura before the Bad Boy Entertainment founder allegedly intimidated and threatened Bongolan. It all came to a head in September 2016, when Combs allegedly dangled Bongolan over Ventura’s balcony while screaming at her.

“The sole purpose of hanging someone over a balcony is to actually kill that person or to intentionally terrorize them and deprive them of any concept of control over their own bodily autonomy and safety,” the suit, filed by attorney James R. Nikraftar of Miller Barondess, claims. “SM. Bongolan refuses to let this fear control the rest of her life and brings this action to demand that Mr. Combs take responsibility for the trauma he has intentionally and maliciously inflicted.

Combs – who is currently detained without bail after pleading not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges — “strongly denies” Bongolan’s allegations. “Anyone has the right to bring a lawsuit, regardless of the evidence they may or may not have,” Combs’ legal representative said in a statement to the company Rolling Stone. “Since last year, Ms. Bongolan has expressed her intention to sue Mr. Combs and has sought legal representation to pursue her claims. “Mr. Combs vehemently denies these serious allegations and remains confident that they will ultimately be proven to be without merit.”

Bongolan describes herself as a young, aspiring fashion designer when she became close to Ventura while they both worked at the popular Diamond Supply Co. store. in Los Angeles circa 2014. Through Ventura, Bongolan was introduced to Combs, who she believed could offer “one-time help-lifetime opportunities” with him and his company. “Ultimately, this only led to terror and violence at his hands,” the lawsuit claims.

Bongolan says that through 2018, she worked on several projects for Combs and his companies, including Bad Boy Entertainment specialty jackets, the 2016 Bad Boy tour, album covers, music videos and a clothing line for Ventura. However, working with Combs did not provide her with the career advancement Bongolan had hoped for, her lawsuit claims, but instead forced her to “experience first-hand violence and harassment in a professional setting as well.”

Around this time, Bongolan says she also began to notice “disturbing signs of an abusive relationship” between Ventura and Combs, who allegedly blew up Ventura’s phone if she didn’t answer his calls, showed up unannounced at Ventura’s apartment and “bang” on her door and they accuse people of trying to “fuck his woman.”

There were multiple alleged instances in which Bongolan claimed to have seen Ventura covered in bruises or with a black eye, which Ventura claimed allegedly came from Combs. Bongolan claims she was physically present during one of the explosive fights, during which Combs “threw a large kitchen knife at Ms. Ventura, who, acting in self-defense, threw one at him.”

Eventually, Bongolan says Combs began “directing his rage” at her. During a photo shoot for Ventura, Combs allegedly cornered Bongolan and threatened her, inches from her face. “I’m a f***ing devil,” Combs told Bongolan, according to the lawsuit. “You have no idea what I could do to you.” I could kill you.

Bongolan claims she took the threat seriously, knowing “firsthand that Mr. Combs was a violent man,” referring to what she had seen of his relationship with Ventura and learning that Kid Cudi’s car exploded after the singer’s brief affair with Ventura . (Kid Cudi confirmed the accusation New York Timessaying “It’s all true”). Bongolan says she also heard rumors that the billionaire once “flayed a rival’s dog.”

Combs’ alleged threats became reality on September 26, 2016, Bongolan claims, when she and her girlfriend stayed overnight at Ventura’s Los Angeles apartment. Bongolan claims she woke up in the early morning hours to Combs “violently” screaming and banging on Ventura’s front door.

Bongolan claims she told her girlfriend to hide in the bathroom and lock the door, at which point Combs forced his way into the apartment and attacked Bongolan, who was on the apartment’s balcony at the time. Combs allegedly grabbed Bongolan and groped her breasts when she tried to fight him and yelled at him to leave her alone.

Combs then grabbed Bongolan by the armpits and “lifted her onto the railing of the 17th-floor balcony, repeatedly shouting, ‘Do you know what the hell you did?’ Do you know what the hell you did?” – the lawsuit says.

A physical fight ensued during which Bongolan tried to get back to the ground, Bongolan said, but because she is just under five feet tall and weighs just under 30 pounds, Combs easily overpowered her. “He immediately lifted her higher and higher over the 17th-floor balcony of Ms. Ventura’s apartment, and only Combs’ grip kept her from falling to her death,” the lawsuit says.

Ventura, who was locked in her bedroom, ran out to the balcony and “screamed” at Combs to stop, the lawsuit alleges, telling him that Bongolan’s girlfriend was also in the apartment and could overhear what was happening.

“Seeing the threat of so many witnesses to the assault, (Combs) pulled Ms. Bongolan back over the balcony,” the lawsuit says. “But he didn’t let her go. In a final burst of violence, he threw Ms Bongolan onto the balcony’s garden furniture, including the table.”

“The September 26 assault conclusively proved that Ms. Bongolan was right to fear Mr. Combs and caused deep and lasting harm,” the lawsuit adds.

Ventura also mentions the alleged balcony incident in his now-settled sexual exploitation and sex trafficking lawsuit against Combs. (He denied any wrongdoing). Ventura alleged that after she was forced to participate in a freak show with a prostitute, a “heavily intoxicated” Combs picked up the woman “like a child” and dangled her over a 17th-floor balcony.

“SM. Ventura and her friends were frightened by Mr. Combs’ erratic behavior, but Ms. Ventura was heavily sedated due to the drugs she had taken in connection with her participation in FO and was therefore unable to respond to Mr. Combs’ frightening behavior,” he claimed her lawsuit.

Bongolan is now among a group of 30 people who have filed civil lawsuits against Combs. They all claim that Combs assaulted them in some form dating back to the 1990s and continuing through 2022. The claims come from former Danita Kane member Dawn Richard, producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, working models, aspiring artists, businessmen , security guards and people who say they were teenagers at the time of the alleged encounters. Combs has vehemently denied all claims of harassment through his representatives.

The 55-year-old has been detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn since his arrest on September 16. Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York based largely the criminal case against Combs on the alleged experiences of Ventura, who alleged that Combs forced her to perform sex acts with prostitutes throughout their ten-year relationship.

Combs denied her claims and pleaded not guilty to the three charges against him. If convicted, he faces 15 years to life in prison.

The best of Rolling Stone

Register RollingStone Newsletter. For the latest updates, keep following us Facebook, TwitterAND Instagram.