Gloria Estefan defended her husband, Emilio Estefan Jr., after a Diddy accuser mentioned him in a federal lawsuit, Us Weekly can exclusively report.
Gloria, 67, wrote a letter to the judge presiding over the case filed in April by a man named Manzaro Joseph. In the lawsuit, Joseph claimed he was sexually assaulted at a party for Diddy’s son Christian in 2015. The alleged party took place on Star Island, an island in Miami Beach, Florida, where many celebrities own estates.
Gloria and Emilio, 72, own an estate near Diddy’s home and previously owned a home next to his property. In the suit, Joseph claimed he was transported via a tunnel from Estefan’s home to Diddy’s home. Emilio is even a named defendant.
In her declaration that was filed by Emilio’s team on July 27, Gloria explained that she is a “well-known songwriter and recording artist, who has sold over 100 million records.” She said she owns several homes and commercial properties in Miami Beach and has been involved in the community. She said as a result, she and her husband “enjoy a very favorable reputation in Miami” and throughout the world.
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Gloria said she read Joseph’s lawsuit and “categorically [denies] each and every allegation about me and my husband.”
She said they own two homes adjacent to each other on Star Island in Miami Beach. She said between 1993 and 2021, they owned another home nearby where family members lived.
Gloria said one family member and his toddler lived in the home from 2012 to 2019. The singer said given she is close to her family member, “had strangers appeared” at the home “after midnight in early April 2015 that would have no doubt been reported to me or to Emilio.”
“No such thing happened. Particularly given the occupants of [the home], I know that no parties were thrown during that time period,” she said.
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Gloria also called out the claim that Joseph was taken to the back entrance of her home. She said in order to gain access to that area, visitors must “pass not only through the front entrances’ manned security gate, but they would then be let in through two gates by the occupant of the home.” She said a person cannot simply walk in the back door.
Gloria said she sold the home to Diddy in 2021. Diddy owned a home close by that he bought from music mogul Tommy Mottola. They said they have been inside Diddy’s home when Tommy owned it, but never when Diddy lived in it.
Gloria added, “At no time was there ever any ‘tunnel’ between the two houses, at least not while we owned [the home sold to Diddy], and based on many years of experience with the City of Miami Beach, I believe this fact could have been easily verified through the public records of the City of Miami Beach.”
“I was never in [Diddy’s] house and [Diddy] was never in either our residence or family house, except after [Diddy] purchased the family house in 2021,” she said.
The entertainer said the allegations made against her husband “could not have been worse since the “news coverage coincided with the release of two of my new songs,” produced by Emilio.
“The time period in which this suit was filed was, therefore, crucial for the planned marketing and promotion of not only the two songs, but the Album itself. The negative publicity, which persists, thwarted our marketing and promotional efforts, no doubt causing significant financial harm in lost sales,” she said.
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In his motion to dismiss, Emilio denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
In his lawsuit, Joseph claimed Diddy placed a sex toy on his head and walked him around the party. He also claimed to have been drugged.
In his suit, Joseph claimed he was taken through Emilio and Gloria’s mansion. He claimed Gloria was shocked by his physical state and wanted to call an ambulance. Joseph’s suit claimed Emilio moved Gloria away from the scene. Later, Joseph claimed he ran into Lebron James in a hallway.
Joseph said he was led to a secret tunnel to Diddy’s mansion, where Diddy and a woman directed others to subject him to “degrading and non-consensual acts”.
He said he was sexually assaulted and forced to partake in “unwanted sexual activity using [a] mask and sex toy.”
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The court dismissed all claims against Emilio on July 24 but allowed Joseph time to amend his lawsuit.
Diddy’s lawyer denied the claims in a statement to TMZ. “This complaint demonstrates the depraved lengths plaintiffs will travel to garner headlines in pursuit of a payday. No sane person reading this complaint could credit this story. [Diddy] looks forward to having his day in court where these lies – and the perverse motives of those who told them – will be revealed,” the mogul’s legal team said when the lawsuit was filed.
James’ lawyer said, “This is demonstrably false and doesn’t even merit a report or response. A basic internet search shows what LeBron was doing all of April 2015. He was playing basketball for the Cleveland Cavaliers and never in Miami.”
At the time, Gloria and Emilio released a statement denying the claims.
Their rep said, “Gloria and Emilio Estefan strongly deny the allegations made. The property in question was never a home where Gloria and Emilio resided, but it was rather a house they owned for family use. There were no parties thrown at that property between 2012 and 2019. We have all necessary documentation to support these facts and will provide it to the court.”
As Us previously reported, Diddy was found not guilty of two charges of sex trafficking on July 2 as part of his federal trial. He was found guilty of counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. The mogul faces up to 20 years in prison on the charges.
