Diddy Explains 2007 Oscar Party Altercation

Last Friday (February 15), Sean "Diddy" Combs filed a declaration in a Los Angeles court, explaining a lawsuit from a man who claims that the mogul punched him outside a 2007 Oscar Awards after party. According to TMZ, who obtained the declaration, Combs alleges that the plaintiff, Gerald Rechnitzer, "continued moving toward me and, without warning, lunged at me. Instinctively, I outstretched one of my hands, which hand was not closed-fisted, to shield myself ... any contact between Mr.Rechnitzer and myself was caused by his forward motion against my stationary open hand."

As XXLMAG.com previously reported, Rechnitzer filed his suit on March 2, 2007. According to his account, he was on his way out of a party at Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel with his fiancé when he stopped to use the restroom. When he exited, he saw his fiancé surrounded by a group of about six men, including Combs. Diddy then said to the man, "What the fuck you looking at dude? I'll smack the flames out of your ass!" At this point, the plaintiff claims that Diddy punched him in the jaw, sending him backwards, before pushing his fiancé and attempting to spit on another female member of Rechnitzer's entourage.