In an appearance on the PBD Podcast with Patrick Bet-David, actor Cuba Gooding Jr. responded to being mentioned in Rodney 'Lil Rod' Jones' assault lawsuit against Diddy.
At around the 1:23:50 point of the podcast, as seen above, Gooding was asked for his thoughts on the allegations against Diddy, especially following the federal raids on two of his homes. "I mean that's crazy, that's the craziest thing I'd ever... Hey, how about me? I wake up in the morning, I turn on The Today Show, 'Actor Cuba Gooding Jr.'—I was like, 'Excuse me?! Pulling me into this?" he said.
The Oscar-winning actor was accused of sexual harassment and assault in Jones' lawsuit. As he claimed in the legal documents, Jones believed Diddy was "grooming him" and intended to pass him along to others. In an alleged January 2023 incident, Jones said he was introduced to Gooding on a yacht and was groped by the actor, who he "forcibly" pushed away. "Mr. Combs had dominion and control over the actions of Cuba Gooding Jr. and failed to step in and stop Cuba Gooding Jr. from sexually assaulting Mr. Jones," the suit alleges.
"I think, whatever he's dealing with... He's on his journey, man," said Gooding. "I can't imagine that he's stupid enough to do whatever he's doing and keep it on his premises. I think that the raid and all of that stuff, only time will tell who was involved, who had been a frequent guest in these places and areas. It's funny, because my lawyers said, 'You know, every outlet in the world wants to talk to you.' And again, I'm not defining myself from some headline in the press, so I stayed quiet."
Gooding acknowledged that there's a picture of him included in the lawsuit, which shows him with his arm around Jones. He said it was framed in the context of the lawsuit to make the photo appear "sordid," but maintained that he did not spend much time on the yacht as it was New Year's Eve and he was hopping to other yachts to say hello to friends.
"I went from one ship, 'Happy New Year,'" he said. "So I hung out with Tyson, next ship there's Drake. This ship had P. Diddy, he had his guy, his videographer. They're listening to music. He says, 'Hey Cuba, you want to hear P. Diddy's new song?' I said, 'Yeah, sure!' Sit down next to him." He said he had photo showing another angle, but said the interaction only happened briefly and he was gone not long after he listened to the track.
"This guy who’s suing him [is] going after the money, man. I’m sure, and by the way, I don’t know P. Diddy’s life. I don’t know what he’s going through," he continued, noting that he's only hung out with Diddy a handful of times. "We were acquaintances, just like I just showed you. Two–three times I’ve seen him." He said he believes he was mentioned in the lawsuit because of other similar lawsuits against him filed in the past.
In 2019, Gooding was arrested on charges of misdemeanor forcible touching and sexual abuse in the third degree. He was accused of groping a woman at a bar in Times Square. he was indicted on an additional charge later that year, and by August 2020 he was accused by at least 30 women of nonconsensual sexual touching. In April 2022, he pleaded guilty to forcibly touching a woman during an alleged incident at a nightclub in NYC in 2018.
