Sean “Diddy” Combs is asking a federal judge to dismiss Clayton Howard’s amended lawsuit. He argues that the former male escort’s paid encounters with him do not support claims that he was coerced into sexual activity. In an October 7 filing, according to TMZ, Combs and two of his companies said Howard could decide which services he offered. They also claimed that he could reject requests he did not want to accept.
Combs’ legal team reportedly compared Howard to a restaurant offering choices on and off the menu. The filing also alleges that Howard returned to the encounters for sex and money. In addition, the court documents call him an “enabler and exploiter.”
“Howard is a prostitute," the court documents detailed. "He is paid for sex for a living. To perform his job, he sheds his clothes and personal effects to engage in an array of sexual acts. Including vaginal and oral copulation. That is his professional pursuit, selling his body for cash to assist his curated clientele to achieve whatever sexual desire, fantasy or fetish is demanded.”
Howard’s complaint disagrees. He argues that agreeing to paid sexual encounters did not mean consenting to every act or circumstance that allegedly followed. He claims Combs and others used drugs, misrepresentations, and physical restraint to keep him participating. One allegation concerns a 2016 trip to Miami. Howard says his clothes, identification, and phone were taken. And that he witnessed Combs assault Cassie Ventura before being ordered into another room, where he says he was kept for about 12 hours. Combs’ filing disputes the legal basis for those claims.
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Moreover, a jury acquitted Combs of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, but convicted him on two counts of transportation for prostitution. In July, a judge allowed several of Howard’s civil claims against Combs to proceed. Meanwhile, dismissing claims against Ventura with leave to amend. Combs’ lawyers now argue that Howard’s revised complaint still does not connect the alleged coercion to sexual acts he would not otherwise have agreed to.
The judge is scheduled to hear arguments on the dismissal requests October 21. The upcoming hearing will focus on the legal dispute over consent: Combs’ team says Howard had the ability to refuse, while Howard maintains that agreeing to paid sex did not mean giving up control over everything that happened. Until the judge rules, both sides’ positions remain contested.
