HIP HOP mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs could be blocked from attending the upcoming Grammy Awards.

Comb’s 2023 album The Love Album: Off the Grid is nominated in the Best Progressive R&B Album category at next year’s ceremony.

All nominated artists are invited to attend the ceremony as standard practice, but according to reports, Diddy’s invite is being evaluated by the Recording Academy.

In a statement provided to Rolling Stone, the academy, which oversees the Grammys said it is currently in discussions about whether Diddy would be welcome at the ceremony.

“We are taking this matter very seriously and we are in the process of evaluating it with the time and care that it deserves,” the organisation said in its statement to the music outlet.

Rolling Stone also said that eighteen companies have distanced themselves from his new e-commerce website Empower Global, for Black-owned businesses. The move comes in the wake of a growing number of sexual abuse lawsuits against  the music mogul.

Lawsuits

In the past month, four different women have sued Combs over sexual abuse claims. The first was R&B singer Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, who filed a lawsuit against Combs at the end of November accusing him of rape and sex trafficking.

Ventura reached a private settlement with Combs the following day. Two more women subsequently came forward and accused Combs of rape.

A fourth woman alleged that Combs and two others gang raped her when she was 17.

The woman, whose  identity has not been revealed in the legal action, claims the Bad Boy Records founder flew her to his New York studio in 2003, before he attacked her with two other men.

Combs has strenuously denied the allegations from the woman and released a statement on social media.

He said: “Enough is enough. For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy.

“Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday.

“Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”