Diddy sexual assault accuser Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones has claimed that he has been forced to go into hiding after receiving threats for suing the Bad Boy boss.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, the Love Album producer broke his silence on his legal battle with Puffy and discussed his life since he accused the mogul of sexual harassment in February.
Lil Rod said of Diddy: “He’s a monster. He’ll do whatever is necessary to get exactly what he wants. He doesn’t take no for an answer. He [told me] himself, ‘I’ll smack my mama.’ Anybody who can say that even jokingly is a monster. He’s nothing to be played with.”
He went on to reveal that he is keeping his location secret over concerns for his safety: “There have been too many people trying to figure out where I’m at. I moved locations, moved states. Everything is private. My mom doesn’t even know where I live. It’s been like that pretty much all year.”
Rod also claimed that his career has come to a halt since filing the $30 million lawsuit against Diddy: “Because of this lawsuit, most people don’t want to come near working with me for whatever reasons, whether they’ve been in partnership with Puff or they want to just sit back and see what happens. He’s a gatekeeper in the music industry.”
He further admitted to being paranoid that Diddy was going to take revenge on him: “Diddy has a lot of people on his payroll in a lot of different positions. He’s very connected. It’s made me nervous traveling. Going to hotels, I ask if there’s any way to remove my name.
“[The last time] I landed in L.A., I knew he had connections there. I got off the plane worried. I masked my face and changed my outfits, trying to disguise myself. For sure I was uncomfortable, paranoid, afraid.”
Lil Rod would go on to thank T-Pain, who he performed with at the Hollywood Bowl in June, for standing by him during the controversy.
“I’m broke. I have no source of income right now. Every month I’m trying to figure out how the bills are going to get paid. I had my phone turned off for like 24 hours. And a lot of people just sit back and watch,” he added.
“But T-Pain is a real friend. His team worked to make sure it was safe for me [to work the Hollywood Bowl how]. That felt good. But there should be more artists like T-Pain having my back.”
In his lawsuit, Lil Rod accused Diddy of groping him, drugging him and forcing him to solicit and have sex with male sex workers.
Diddy initially denied the allegations, with his lawyer Shawn Holley saying: “Lil Rod is nothing more than a liar who filed a $30 million lawsuit shamelessly looking for an undeserved payday. His reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen is nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines.”
She added: “We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies […] We will address these outlandish allegations in court and take all appropriate action against those who make them.”
Earlier this week, Diddy’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss Rod’s lawsuit.
