Cuba Gooding Jr. has spoken out against allegations made by music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Smith’s allegations against himself and and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Smith, who produced several tracks on the rapper’s latest album, filed suit against Diddy in February, claiming the Bad Boy Entertainment mogul inappropriately touched him, that he was drugged and raped at one of Diddy’s parties, and that Diddy let his friends make inappropriate advances. (Diddy has denied wrongdoing).
Smith also claimed that Gooding had been part of the scene where he was allegedly victimized, and that Gooding groped him.
Now Gooding claims that Smith is just after money — and that he thinks he’s an easy target because of past sexual misconduct allegations against him.
In a new interview with Patrick Bet-David’s “The PBD Podcast,” Gooding revealed he was shocked to learn that he was named in Smith’s lawsuit against Combs.
“That’s the craziest thing,” he said. “I wake up in the morning. I turn on the ‘Today’ show [and hear] ‘Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. …’ Excuse me! You pull me into this?”
In fact, Gooding claims he’s only hung out with Diddy “two or three times,” including New Year’s Eve, when he listened to music on Diddy’s yacht with Smith.
“That was it, but this guy who’s suing him, is going after the money … I’m sure,” Gooding said. “And by the way, I don’t know P. Diddy’s life. I don’t know what he’s going through.
“We were acquaintances,” he insisted.
He said they first met in 2019 or 2020, when Gooding’s girlfriend, Claudine De Niro, introduced him to Diddy.
Gooding says he thinks Smith only dropped his name because of “the cases I’ve already went through.”
In 2022, Gooding pleaded guilty to a forcible touching misdemeanor charge for non-consensually kissing a woman at a nightclub in 2018.
