Prince Harry’s party days with Sean “Diddy” Combs could be coming back to haunt him after it emerged that he was named in court documents filed against the rapper, who is facing a litany of shocking sexual assault allegations in a case being brought by one of his former producers, Rodney Jones.
Federal law enforcement raided two of Diddy’s properties on Monday as part of an investigation into sex trafficking allegations.
While Harry is not accused of any wrongdoing, being named in the suit by Jones as a friend of Combs will be an unwelcome reminder for Harry of his former association with the rapper.
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Jones, who says he was groped, harassed, and threatened by Combs, says in the suit, which was first filed in February, that Diddy’s co-defendants were rewarded “for participating in and facilitating Combs’ sex trafficking venture” by getting “affiliation and access to Mr Combs’ popularity.” Jones says, “Mr Combs was known for throwing the ‘best’ parties. Affiliation with, and or sponsorship of Mr Combs’ sex-trafficking parties garnered legitimacy and access to celebrities such as famous athletes, political figures, artists, musicians, and international dignitaries like British royal, Prince Harry.”
While it can be argued it is deeply unfair for Harry to be singled out by name when he has done nothing wrong and others are not named, his naming in the suit exposes the particular need for members of the British royal family to be ultra-cautious about whom they associate with and under what conditions.
Prince Andrew was regularly cited by name in U.S. court documents as the Jeffrey Epstein/Ghislaine Maxwell scandal unspooled. Ultimately he was himself accused of sexual assault by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, and he paid her a multi-million dollar settlement. Most recently the disgraced prince was named in a sheaf of documents unsealed earlier this year relating to Epstein in which he was accused of participating in an orgy with underage victims.
Royals also need to be careful about who they are photographed with, as Andrew can also attest, given that it was a picture of him with his arm slung around the bare midriff of a teenage Giuffre that propelled the allegations against him to global front pages.
In 2007, William and Harry posed for photos alongside Kanye West and Diddy after they played at the “Concert for Diana.” The four greeted each other warmly with Harry putting his arm over Diddy’s shoulder.
Harry, who complained in his memoir Spare that he was often left to carry the can for both him and William, may well wonder how he, once again, is the one being dragged into controversy, not his brother.
The answer may lie in a seemingly innocuous remark made by Diddy in 2012, when he said, “I really can’t wait to get to the U.K. as London is one of my favorite cities. I’m also hoping I’ll get to catch up with Prince Harry while I’m there. He’s such a cool guy and it’s about time we hung out. I need him to take me to some of those wild Mayfair clubs.”
Harry’s office has been approached for comment.
