SEAN COMBS DEFENDS ASSULT LAWSUIT

Sean 'Diddy" Combs

Diddy is defending himself against accusations he assaulted a man at a post-Oscars party last year, by insisting the alleged victim ran into his "stationary open hand". The music mogul stands accused of punching Gerard Rechnitzer in the jaw after he objected to Combs’ attempts to woo his fiancee at a Roosevelt Hotel party in Hollywood last February. Last month, four people came forward with eyewitness accounts backing Rechnitzer’s claims. In legal papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Combs argues that all he did was try to protect himself from Rechnitzer, who is seeking unspecified damages in a lawsuit filed last March. Documents, obtained by TMZ read: "(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."