Hollywood is rightfully shaking. Music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution in the notorious Metropolitan Detention Centre in New York and has been denied bail three times.

He faces more than 100 allegations of sexual assault and abuse, with lawyer Tony Buzbee claiming it could reach as many as 300. The rapper denies all allegations and plans to plead not guilty in court. Given that Combs is one of the biggest names in the music industry, Buzbee says he has a list of ‘household names’ implicated in the case at his disposal.

Most recently, that has come to include Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter. He has been accused of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl along with Combs at a party in 2000. Carter denies the allegations and has dismissed the lawsuit as a ‘blackmail attempt’.

According to the lawsuit, the accuser claims she was assaulted at a house party after the MTV Video Music Awards and that an ‘unnamed female celebrity’ was in the room at the time.

It’s no doubt a troubling time for anyone with close ties to Combs. Anyone who was around him during that time is being speculated about, with wildly presumptous claims being made online. Now, in the most recent attempt to deep dive into Combs life in the 90s and noughties, old video footage of Jennifer Lopez, Combs’ then-girlfriend, arguing with him, has resurfaced. Some claim it’s from the night of the alleged assault, although all of this is currently speculation. There is no suggestion that Lopez is accused of any wrongdoing, or was the alleged female celebrity in question.

Lopez was in a relationship with him from 1999 to 2001, and the alleged assault took place in September 2000, so her name has been brought into the spotlight. In October, Lopez was questioned about the Combs allegations after a screening of her film Unstoppable in LA. She immediately stopped signing autographs and left the venue. Lopez has not publicly commented on the trial or responded to the resurfaced footage.

It has not been confirmed who the alleged unnamed celebrity in the latest lawsuit is. The plaintiff claims that her friend drove her to Radio City Music Hall so that she could try to get into the VMAs ceremony despite not having a ticket. She was then approached by a chauffeur who agreed to take her to an afterparty and said she ‘fit what Diddy was looking for’.

At the party, she alleges that she was asked to sign a document, which she believes was a non-disclosure agreement, and was then given a drink that made her feel ‘woozy’ and ‘light-headed’ so went into a nearby room to lie down.

Moments later, ‘Combs entered the room, along with defendant Carter and a female celebrity,’ the lawsuit states. ‘Plaintiff immediately recognised all three celebrities.’

She alleges that Combs then approached her with ‘a crazed look in his eyes’ before throwing her against a wall and on to the bed where she was allegedly raped first by Carter and then by Combs, while an alleged female celebrity watched.

Carter has called the allegations ‘so heinous in nature’ that he has implored Buzbee to file a criminal lawsuit instead of a civil one. In a statement posted to social media, the rapper said his ‘only heartbreak’ is for his family, including his wife Beyoncé Knowles and their three children, Blue Ivy, Rumi and Sir.

‘My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people,’ he continued. ‘I mourn yet another loss of innocence.’

The evening the story broke, Carter attended the LA premiere of Mufasa with Beyoncé, Blue Ivy and his mother-in-law, Tina Knowles. The family posed for pictures on the red carpet to celebrate the launch of the film, in which Beyoncé and Blue Ivy star.

As for Combs, this is not a story that is going away in a hurry. Buzbee told the BBC that his team has received around 3,000 calls since he held a news conference calling for clients in October. In a statement released at the time, Buzbee suggested that several high-profile celebrities were ‘accomplices’ in Combs’ alleged legacy of abuse. ‘The names will shock you,’ he said. ‘The day will come when we will name names other than Sean Combs, and there’s lots of names. It’s a long list already, but because of the nature of this case, we are going to make damn sure, damn sure, that we’re right before we do that.’

Having already filed 20 lawsuits from men and women seeking damages, the lawyer claims the total will be ‘about 100 to 150’. Combs’ lawyer Erica Wolff said, ‘Mr Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process.

In court, the truth will prevail: That Mr Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone – man or woman, adult or minor.’

His trial is due to start on 5 May next year. Combs’ lawyers have attempted to have him released on bail three times, citing the jail’s ‘horrific’ conditions, but he has had his plea repeatedly denied. The prosecution have accused him of breaking prison rules and using other inmates’ phone calls to contact potential witnesses and a New York federal judge argued that Combs was a ‘serious flight risk’.

With new developments on an almost daily basis, it is set to be one of the most high profile sex trafficking trials in recent history.