MIAMI – Latin music icons Gloria and Emilio Estefan are fighting back after being swept into the high-profile federal case against Sean "Diddy" Combs. The couple, who have long been celebrated as Miami's first family of Latin music, were accused in a lawsuit of having ties to alleged human trafficking, witness tampering, and secret celebrity parties.
A court has since thrown out the case, calling it "frivolous" and "beyond implausible," but the Estefans are not letting the matter rest. They now plan to sue for defamation, as they said in a statement published on their Instagram accounts.
How the Estefans Got Pulled Into the Storm
The Estefans were never directly accused of wrongdoing in the main federal investigation into Diddy. Instead, they were pulled into the case through a series of jaw-dropping claims filed by plaintiff Manzaro Joseph and his attorney, Travis R. Walker.
The lawsuit alleged that, back in 2015, when the Estefans still owned a house on Star Island near Diddy's residence, their property was part of a network used to facilitate the trafficking of people into wild parties. Joseph claimed he was transported through a secret underground tunnel linking the two homes, then humiliated by other guests at one of Combs's infamous "freak off" gatherings.
The complaint even went as far as to allege that Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and LeBron James attended the party. But the narrative quickly unraveled: public records showed Jay-Z and Beyoncé were nowhere near Miami at the time, while LeBron was playing in Cleveland.
The Tunnel That Never Was
Central to the allegations was the supposed tunnel between the Estefan and Combs properties. In his sworn affidavit, Emilio Estefan dismissed the idea as laughable and scientifically impossible.
"Star Island is a man-made island formed by dredging sand," Estefan explained. "You cannot dig very far at all before you will hit water."
The court agreed, calling the tunnel story an "engineering impossibility." Gloria Estefan was more blunt, branding the claims as "fantasy" and stressing that no stranger could have accessed their home unnoticed.
The Estefans also clarified that they never lived in the house during the period in question. At times, family members stayed there. Other times, it was rented out to third parties. But they insisted they never hosted or attended parties with Diddy or gave anyone access to Star Island's tight security.
In July, the court dismissed the lawsuit in its entirety. The ruling didn't stop at absolving the Estefans, as it rebuked the plaintiff's legal team in unusually strong language. The judge wrote that attorney Walker's filings contained no credible evidence and failed to corroborate even "a fraction" of the claims. The court ruled that a lawyer exercising "ordinary prudence" would have realized the story was not believable and sanctioned Walker for reckless conduct.
Reputation on the Line
For Emilio and Gloria Estefan, being linked to lurid human trafficking allegations was devastating. "We've spent decades building our careers, our businesses, and our family name," said the statement. "To see it smeared with lies hurts not only us but our children and our legacy."
The Estefans are now weighing a defamation lawsuit against both Joseph and Walker. According to their attorneys, they are seeking full compensation for the reputational damage and emotional distress caused by what the court itself described as baseless claims.
Gloria Estefan also hinted at legal action during an interview: "I'm pleased this has been dismissed, but they're going to have to explain themselves. The truth always rises. And music, too."
This is the full text of their statement:
The lawsuit filed against Emilio Estefan, Jr. has been dismissed in its entirety. The Court not only rejected the amended complaint but also sanctioned the plaintiff's attorney, finding the claims frivolous and unsupported.
In its ruling, the Court emphasized that the allegations concerning Mr. Estefan were so "thin" they could not sustain the "sweeping" accusations of human trafficking, obstruction of justice, or witness tampering. Importantly, none of those allegations were about Mr. Estefan. The only supposed "facts" against him were that the Estefans once owned a home on Star Island many years ago next to Sean "Diddy" Combs, a property where they never resided and which was occupied by other family members. When the property was not occupied by family members, it was leased out to third-parties. Plaintiffs claimed the house contained a tunnel to Combs's residence, allegedly used to transport the plaintiff, who said he was later humiliated by others, not Estefan. The Court found these claims to be "objectively frivolous" and "beyond implausible." It further noted that the supposed tunnel was an "engineering impossibility." As Mr. Estefan's affidavit explained: "Star Island is a man-made island formed by dredging sand. You cannot dig very far at all before you will hit water."
Other allegations crumbled under scrutiny. Plaintiffs asserted that Jay Z and Beyoncé attended a "freak off" party on the property, but public records show neither were in Miami at the time. They also claimed LeBron James was present, yet records proved he was in Cleveland playing basketball. The Estefans have never hosted a party for Mr. Combs or his family, never attended any of his parties at his house, and never granted plaintiff access through Star Island security.The Court further criticized the plaintiff's attorney, noting: "None of the exhibits Attorney Walker has provided to the Court corroborate even a fraction of the factual averments challenged by Defendant Estefan, nor would they convince an attorney of ordinary prudence that the narrative he is being asked to present to the Court is a credible one." The Court found that Attorney Walker could have easily determined the falsity of the allegations before filing the case but failed to investigate responsibly.
Plaintiff Manzaro has been previously sanctioned for filing frivolous lawsuits, as noted in one of the Court's Orders. Attorney Walker has been reprimanded before by the Bar for failing to maintain proper communications with his clients. Their reckless actions in this matter caused unnecessary harm to the Estefans' reputation.The Estefans are taking legal action to obtain full compensation for the damage caused by this baseless lawsuit.
© 2025 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
