Woman Claims Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Raped Her After She Alleged He Was Involved With Tupac Shakur’s Killing—The Diddy-Tupac Conspiracy, Explained
by Conor Murray · ForbesTopline
A woman alleges in a new lawsuit the disgraced music mogul and federal inmate Sean “Diddy” Combs raped her in 2018 as retaliation for stating she believes Combs was involved with the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur, a longstanding rumor Combs has repeatedly denied and has never faced charges for.
Key Facts
In a lawsuit filed in Northern California federal court on Tuesday, plaintiff Ashley Parham alleges a man she met a bar in February 2018 who is also listed as a co-defendant, Shane Pearce, FaceTime called Combs, which Parham said did not impress her because she believed Combs was involved with the murder of Shakur.
Parham’s lawsuit states Combs heard her remark about Shakur and said she would “pay.”
The following month, Parham went to Peace’s home to assist with his cancer medications, according to her lawsuit, and Combs arrived at his home shortly after with a bodyguard, driver and several others Parham believed to be Combs’ friends.
Parham alleges Combs said he “caught” her, referring to her prior remark about Combs and Shakur, and that he wielded a knife and threatened to give her a “Glasgow smile”—an injury caused by cutting from a victim’s mouth to their ears.
Parham’s lawsuit claims Combs raped her with a television remote, drugged her, and that Pearce, Combs, and Combs’ bodyguard and friend, referred to as Doe 1 and Doe 2, gang-raped her.
Why Do Some Believe Combs Was Involved With Shakur’s Murder?
Shakur was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in 1996, and Combs has long been the subject of rumors he was involved, though no link has ever been proven and Combs has never been charged in connection with his killing. Two years prior to his death, Shakur was shot five times at Quad Recording Studios in New York, one of the major incidents in the East-West Coast rap rivalry, in which Combs and his Bad Boy Records represented the east, while Shakur was a major face of the west. Shakur told Vibe Magazine in 1995 that after he was robbed and shot by three armed men in the Quad Studios lobby, he took the elevator upstairs where about 40 people, including Combs and his protégé, The Notorious B.I.G., were. Shakur said “nobody would look at me,” and Combs “was standing back too.” Combs denied in an interview with Vibe in 1996 he was involved with the shooting, accusing Shakur of knowing who shot him and using Combs as a scapegoat. In a 2008 Los Angeles Times story, which was later retracted after it was found to be based on falsified FBI documents, reporter Chuck Philips alleged Combs orchestrated the 1994 shooting, which Combs denied in a statement. Shakur’s murder had long remained a mystery until Duane "Keffe D" Davis, a former South Side Crips leader, was arrested in September 2023, years after he admitted in a 2019 memoir he was in the car from which the gunshots that killed Shakur were fired. People reported in July that court documents say Davis told police in 2009 Combs said he “needed to get rid” of Shakur and Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight, who was in the car with Shakur, and offered Davis $1 million to “handle the problem.” Davis was charged with murder for allegedly providing the gun and green-lighting the killing and is set to stand trial in March.
What Has Combs Said About The Shakur Murder Conspiracy?
Combs has repeatedly denied any involvement with Shakur’s murder. “Neither (the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.) nor I had any knowledge of any attack before, during or after it happened,” Combs said in a 2008 statement. Combs again called the allegations “nonsense” in a 2016 interview on Charlamagne Tha God’s “The Breakfast Club” show.
What Has Shakur’s Family Said About Combs?
Shakur’s family reportedly hired New York lawyer Alex Spiro to investigate Combs’ alleged role in Shakur’s killing earlier this month. Shakur’s brother, Mopreme Shakur, told Piers Morgan last week he doesn’t believe Combs was “100% honest” when he said in 2008 he had no advance knowledge of any attack on Shakur. Mopreme Shakur did not accuse Combs of having involvement with the killing, but said it “needs to be looked into.”
Who Has Accused Combs Of Being Involved With Shakur’s Killing?
50 Cent and Eminem have both accused Combs of being involved with Shakur’s killing. In an Instagram post in October 2023, 50 Cent said “pac got lined by brother love,” referring to Combs by one of his nicknames, advising him to “lawyer up.” 50 Cent also said on stage the same month Combs “got Tupac killed.” In his 2018 song “Killshot,” Eminem alleges Combs “put the hit out that got Pac killed,” and he doubled down in his 2024 song “Fuel.”
What Else Does Parham’s Lawsuit Allege?
In her lawsuit, Parham describes an altercation she and Combs had after the alleged gang rape, in which Parham says she confronted Combs while secretly wielding a knife she found inside Pearce’s kitchen, telling Combs he had raped her. Combs allegedly offered Parham money and instructed her to say the rape was consensual and she was a sex worker. Parham claims Combs said he had “gotten off from bigger crimes than this and referred to Tupac again,” after which Combs’ bodyguard, referred to as Doe 1, “pulled his gun on him asking him to repeat what he said in reference to Tupac.” Parham claims she tried to reach for the bodyguard’s hand that held the gun, causing the gun to fire and hit a hill behind Pearce’s residence. Parham’s lawsuit states Combs ran up nearby steps and she charged after him with the knife, pushed him to the ground and intended to stab Combs, but fled after he pleaded for his life. Parham claims Combs chased her, prompting her to graze Combs’ abdomen with the knife. She escaped to the street and sought a neighbor to call the police, and later spent the night at Pearce’s home after Combs and his entourage left. Parham alleges Pearce soon began driving a new car, which she believes “was payment by Defendant Diddy for setting up Plaintiff to be raped.”
Key Background
Combs is currently jailed at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where he awaits trial on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has faced a wave of lawsuits alleging sexual assault—all of which he denied—beginning with a quickly settled lawsuit filed by his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, last November. This week, he was sued an additional six times for sexual assault in New York federal court by plantiffs represented by Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee. Buzbee said earlier this month he will represent 120 accusers with sexual assault allegations against Combs dating back more than 20 years, in lawsuits to be filed in various states.
Further Reading
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Celebrity Ties—Including Usher, Bieber, J. Lo—Under Fresh Scrutiny (Forbes)