Diddy Sued by Former Chef for Sexual Harassment
It looks like Diddy's headed to court. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a former chef at the Bad Boy Entertainment boss' estate is suing him for "sexual harassment, retaliation, defamation, failure to pay overtime and intentional infliction of emotional distress." The alleged victim, Cindy Rueda, claims the events that led her to sue started when she began working for Diddy back in 2015.
In the suit, Rueda claims she was regularly on the clock from 9 a.m. to 12 midnight without being paid overtime. On top of that, she reported that Diddy would also request her to serve him food directly following his sexual activities, and that once, he even asked her if she liked his body. In another instance, one of Diddy's friends asked her to "look at and admire his genitals."
Rueda goes on to report that she'd told Diddy's estate director, Stacy Friend, about her poor working conditions and that she was eventually "lured into a situation where she could be accused of theft and ultimately terminated."
The situation Rueda speaks of was seemingly facilitated by someone by the name of Iris, who worked as Diddy's executive housekeeper at his estate. Apparently, Iris frequently held onto belongings Diddy had discarded—like say, watches for instance—and allegedly offered Rueda one of them.
According to Rueda's attorney, James Blancarte, "In the days following, Plaintiff was accused of theft and told that she would not be prosecuted if she returned the watch and signed a waiver of all rights and claims against Defendants."
Blancarte went on to note that Rueda had returned the watch—which she'd apparently been led to believe Diddy no longer wanted—but refused to sign the waivers.
Now, Rueda is looking for "damages for unpaid wages and overtime," as well as "punitive damages and an injunction to prevent future employees from being inaccurately classified as exempt."
XXL has reached out to Diddy's reps for comment. "This is a frivolous lawsuit by a disgruntled ex-employee who was fired for cause," reads the statement.
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