Diddy Scores Massive Legal Win As Judge Tosses Case Over Alleged Drugs, Secret Tapes & Sexual Assault

Diddy achieved a significant legal victory when a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that accused him of drugging, raping, sexually assaulting, and trafficking an aspiring entertainer over several years.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon granted Diddy’s motion to dismiss the suit brought by Las Vegas entertainer Julian Sapp, with the ruling issued on September 18. This decision resolved the federal case and eliminated all 15 claims against Diddy.

Sapp claimed he first met Diddy in 2007 when he was booked to perform as an adult entertainer at a Las Vegas hotel. He alleged that Diddy later convinced him to collaborate directly by offering to assist in launching his music career. According to Sapp, these business discussions frequently turned into coerced sexual encounters.

Sapp accused Diddy of drugging him, confiscating his phone, blocking exits, and displaying firearms. He also alleged that Diddy secretly recorded their sexual encounters and threatened to release the footage if Sapp refused to engage further or disclose the alleged abuse.

Diddy refuted the allegations and contended that Sapp had waited too long to file the lawsuit. Judge Rochon concurred, noting that most of the claims were barred by statutes of limitations. Sapp stated that his last in-person meeting with Diddy occurred around November 2012, but he did not initiate the lawsuit until February 2025.

“The limitations period therefore expired no later than approximately November 2022, more than two years before Sapp commenced this action,” Rochon stated.

Sapp maintained that Diddy’s alleged threats and influence hindered him from filing sooner. However, the judge determined that the complaint did not demonstrate that Sapp had pursued his legal rights with reasonable diligence during the decade following the end of their contact.

“Sapp has not satisfied that prerequisite here,” Rochon wrote, indicating that the prolonged delay without contact suggested a lack of due diligence.

The judge dismissed Sapp’s claims of forced labor and sex trafficking, as well as allegations of sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, emotional distress, invasion of privacy, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment.

Rochon also dismissed a California privacy claim due to Sapp’s assertion that the recordings took place in Diddy’s home and hotel rooms, rather than on property owned by Sapp.

One claim under New York City’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law was dismissed without prejudice, allowing Sapp the option to pursue it in state court while the state’s highest court deliberates on the compatibility of the city’s special revival window with state law.

“The Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Count I, which is dismissed without prejudice to filing in state court,” Rochon wrote.

The corporate entities initially listed in the case, including several Bad Boy companies, had already been voluntarily dismissed after Sapp revised his complaint. The remaining unidentified corporate and individual defendants were also dismissed at Sapp’s request.

This ruling follows the dismissal of a federal lawsuit filed by former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard in June. A different judge determined that most of Richard’s claims regarding alleged abuse, retaliation, and unpaid wages were filed too late, although she retained the option to pursue one claim in state court.

Diddy also recently won another case when a judge permitted his $100 million defamation lawsuit against Courtney Burgess, attorney Ariel Mitchell, and Nexstar Media to proceed. The lawsuit alleges that they disseminated false claims regarding alleged recordings involving celebrities and minors.

His most significant legal success occurred during his 2025 criminal trial, where a jury acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and two sex trafficking charges that could have resulted in a life sentence. However, jurors found Diddy guilty of two counts related to transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution. Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced him to 50 months in federal prison, imposed a $500,000 fine, and ordered five years of supervised release.

As of September 18, 2026, Diddy’s projected release date from federal prison is in February 2028.