Sean 'Diddy' Combs' anonymous accuser reveals her name after judge's order

Exactly a year after filing an anonymous lawsuit accusing Sean "Diddy" Combs and the former president of Bad Boy Records of a "gang rape" when she was 17, the Jane Doe accuser has identified herself following a judge's ruling.

On Friday, Anna Kane filed an amended complaint reiterating her accusations against Combs and Harve Pierre, first made public in her Dec. 6 lawsuit last year. This time, she named herself the victim; her original complaint was filed under the pseudonym Jane Doe.

Kane's lawyer, Doug Wigdor, shared a statement on her behalf that read: "I had hoped to use a pseudonym in pursuing justice for what happened to me as a teenager. Defendants' demand that I use my name was an attempt to intimidate me, but I am not intimidated. I am prepared to proceed and hold accountable those who have harmed me."

USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Combs for comment.

The suit alleges Pierre approached Kane when she was 17 in 2003 at a lounge in Michigan, telling her he was "best friends" with Combs. After calling Combs to prove their relationship, Kane claims, Pierre and Combs convinced her to take a private jet to Daddy’s House Recording Studio, owned and operated by Combs.

The complaint includes photos with Kane's face blurred out, including one where she's seen sitting on the lap of a 24-year-old Combs, that she claims were taken at the studio that night.

Combs, Pierre and an unidentified third assailant then plied Kane with drugs and alcohol, then "gang raped" her, the lawsuit claimed.

Soon after Kane's lawsuit was filed last December, Combs defended himself in a statement: "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH," he said. "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," he said.

Another blow to Diddy's case: Combs denied bail yet again after 2 months in jail

Despite multiple attempts at being released on bond, the rapper and music mogul has been jailed in the Special Housing Unit at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since his Sept. 17 arraignment on criminal charges. Investigators say the 55-year-old elaborately schemed to use his finances and status in the entertainment industry to "fulfill his sexual desires" in a "recurrent and widely known" pattern of abuse.

Combs, who is charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution, pleaded not guilty to the alleged crimes and has maintained all of his sexual encounters were consensual in the face of mounting civil lawsuits over the past year accusing him of rape, trafficking and sexual abuse from the 1990s to 2022.

Kane's lawsuit came nearly three weeks after Combs' ex-girlfriend, the singer Cassie, sued him for alleged rape, sex trafficking and physical abuse. Combs and Cassie settled the case the following day; his lawyers have since alluded to a "substantial eight-figure settlement" being involved in the end of the legal case.

Judges have ordered Diddy's alleged victims to identify themselves

In February, U.S. District Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke ruled that Kane could not proceed with her case anonymously.

"The Court recognizes that public disclosure of Doe's identity could have a significant impact on her, particularly given the graphic and disturbing allegations in this case," Clarke wrote in her opinion.

"While the Court does not take Plaintiff’s concerns lightly, the Court cannot rely on generalized, uncorroborated claims that disclosure would harm Plaintiff to justify her anonymity. Without more specific support, Plaintiff fails to overcome the prejudice to Defendants and public interest factors implicated here."

The judge added Kane "has failed to demonstrate particularized harm or current vulnerabilities."

Before this, lawyers for defendants pushed for Clarke to prevent Kane from remaining anonymous.

In a separate case, another federal judge in October ordered another Jane Doe accuser to identify herself in order to proceed with her case. The judge cast doubt on whether the plaintiff has a "'substantial privacy' interest that outweighs the customary and constitutionally-embedded presumption of openness in judicial proceedings."

Weeks later, the accuser — who is one of allegedly more than 100 plaintiffs represented by attorney Tony Buzbee as they sue Combs — re-filed her lawsuit using her legal name.

The initial pretrial conference for Kane's civil case is set for Jan. 9, 2025.

Contributing: Anika Reed

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Espa?ol RAINN.org/es.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sean 'Diddy' Combs' anonymous accuser reveals name after judge's order