Cuba Gooding Jr. recently spoke about the “groping” allegations against him, which were mentioned in Sean “Diddy” Combs’s ongoing lawsuit.
On the PBD Podcast with Patrick Bet-David, the actor spoke up about Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones’s assault lawsuit against Diddy, in which Gooding Jr. was mentioned. Bet-David asked about his thoughts on the allegations and the federal raids on Diddy’s homes.
“I mean that’s crazy, that’s the craziest thing I’d ever [heard],” he said.
He then went on to talk about how wild it was to be “pulled” into the claims.
“I wake up in the morning, I turn on The Today Show: ‘Actor Cuba Gooding Jr.’—I was like, ‘Excuse me?! Pulling me into this?” he said.
In the complaint, Lil Rod claimed that Gooding Jr. “began touching, groping, and fondling [his] legs, his upper inner thighs near his groin, the small of his back near his buttocks, and his shoulders.” He believed the act was a form of “grooming,” and that Diddy planned to “pass him off to his friends.” This allegedly occurred on a yacht in the U.S. Virgin Islands in January 2023.
The complaint also stated that Lil Rod felt “extremely uncomfortable” and “rejected [Gooding Jr.’s] advances,” but the actor “did not stop until [Lil Rod] forcibly pushed him away.”
When confronted with the sexual harassment/assault claims made against him, Gooding Jr. mostly focused on Diddy.
“I think, whatever [Diddy’s] dealing with, he’s on his journey, man,” Gooding Jr. said in the podcast episode. “I can’t imagine that he’s stupid enough to do whatever he’s doing and keep it on his premises.”
Additionally, “I think that the raid and all of that stuff, only time will tell who was involved, who had been a frequent guest in these places and areas,” he continued.
Cuba Gooding Jr. Responds to ‘Groping’ Claims in Diddy’s Lawsuit
Later, Gooding Jr. opened up about why he, himself, has remained silent amid Lil Rod’s allegations in the Diddy lawsuit.
“It’s funny, because my lawyers said, ‘You know, every outlet in the world wants to talk to you.’ And again, I’m not defining myself from some headline in the press,'” he confessed. “So I stayed quiet.”
Later, he brought up the picture included in the lawsuit, which shows Gooding Jr. with his arm around Lil Rod. He noted the photo appeared “sordid” in the context of the lawsuit, but that it was nothing more than a photo taken of a brief interaction.
“I went from one ship, ‘Happy New Year,'” he said. “So I hung out with Tyson, next ship there’s Drake. This ship had P. Diddy, he had his guy, his videographer. They’re listening to music. He says, ‘Hey Cuba, you want to hear P. Diddy’s new song?’ I said, ‘Yeah, sure!’ Sit down next to him.”
“They didn’t use this angle,” he said, pulling up a live photo on his own phone, which showed the two of them listening to music. “That was it.”
“This guy who’s suing him [is] going after the money, man,” Gooding Jr. continued. “I don’t know P. Diddy’s life. I don’t know what he’s going through … We were acquaintances, just like I just showed you. Two/three times I’ve seen him.”