An Oscar-winning actor has been added to the bombshell lawsuit filed against Diddy

Cuba Gooding Jr. may have won an Oscar back in 1997, but the actor’s life off screen hasn’t always been as successful.

Gooding, whose breakout role as a loyal football player (and Tom Cruise’s only client in “Jerry Maguire”), has been caught up in a few scandals through the years.

In 2022, the 56-year-old pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge after he was accused of assaulting three different women at NYC nightclubs in 2018 and 2019.

The Bronx-born bon vivant, who is often seen partying in Miami, is also caught up in the Sean Combs mess.

Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who filed a lawsuit against Combs last month, has officially accused Gooding of sexual assault, naming him as a defendant in the complaint amended Monday.

The amended civil lawsuit, filed in a New York federal district court, came hours after Homeland Security Investigations agents on Monday raided two of Combs’ mansions, one of them on Star Island in Miami Beach, the other in Los Angeles.

Gooding had been previously named in the February lawsuit, but he hadn’t been listed as a defendant until now.

Jones claims the actor sexually harassed and assaulted him after they were first introduced by Combs on the star’s yacht in the Virgin Islands back in January 2023.

“Cuba Gooding Jr. began touching, groping, and fondling Mr. Jones’ legs, his upper inner thighs near his groin, the small of his back near his buttocks and his shoulders,” say court documents, which include a video screenshot of the two men sitting side by side in a studio.

“Mr. Jones was extremely uncomfortable, and proceeded to lean away from Mr. Gooding Jr.... He rejected his advances and Mr. Gooding Jr. did not stop until Mr. Jones forcibly pushed him away.”

Neither the “Snow Dogs” star nor his reps has yet to comment on the matter.

This story was originally published March 26, 2024 at 4:10 PM.

Madeleine Marr

Miami Herald

Celebrity/real time news reporter Madeleine Marr has been with The Miami Herald since 2003. She has covered such features as travel, fashion and food. In 2007, she helped launch the newspaper’s daily People Page, attending red carpet events, awards ceremonies and press junkets; interviewing some of the biggest names in show business; and hosting her own online show. She is originally from New York City.