Beloved Jodeci frontman DeVante Swing has been dismissed from one of Diddy’s numerous lawsuits.
On January 15th, Liza Gardner, the alleged victim, filed a notice of voluntary dismissal against Swing in the suit she had filed last year, which accused him of “aiding” Diddy in the alleged rape of Gardner, a 16-year-old, in 1990. The dismissal was made without prejudice, leaving open the possibility of re-filing charges in the future.
Gardner had initially claimed that Swing, who was in his early 20s at the time, was present during the assault.
“Unbeknownst to Ms. Gardner at the time, Defendant Swing was in the room when this assault took place and did not take any steps to prevent this abuse from occurring,” the initial legal documents read.
A witness had also testified that Swing was “leaning against the wall or furniture or something, watching whatever Puffy was doing to Liza.”
Gardner accused Swing of trafficking her and coercing her to travel across state lines under false pretenses, providing alcohol, and marijuana, and allegedly prostituting her to the Bad Boy founder. At the time, Jodeci was signed with Uptown Records. Diddy was previously an intern and talent director with the label before launching his own company.
Gardner’s case came to light after accusations from Diddy’s ex-girlfriend Cassie, who filed a suit accusing him of sex trafficking and assault. Gardner alleged that both Diddy and singer Aaron Hall took turns assaulting her after meeting her at MCA Records. Diddy denied all allegations, calling them “fabricated claims” aimed at financial gain.
This is not the only lawsuit that has mentioned Swing’s name. A separate case, filed by Joie Dickerson-Neal, claimed that Diddy sexually assaulted her in 1991 and recorded the act. Dickerson-Neal said in her filing that Swing had informed her that he’d seen a sex tape of her and the disgraced hip-hop icon.
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