People talk 9/20/02

Lenny Kravitz fans can buy his home items

NEW ORLEANS -- Fans of Lenny Kravitz can buy some of his eclectic home furnishing items, including a full suit of armor, at an auction this weekend.

The 38-year-old rock star is selling more than 1,700 pieces of antique furniture and bric-a-brac, nearly everything he had in his French Quarter home, said Michael DeGeorge, consignment agent for New Orleans Auction Galleries.

The auction will include chandeliers, candlesticks, pillows, chairs and mirrors.

Sidney Torres IV, a friend of Kravitz, said the rocker decided to completely redecorate the house he bought in the early 1990s and decorated with items bought at New Orleans antique shops.

The auction will be held today through Sunday.

P. Diddy pays up on man's lawsuit

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Sean "P. Diddy" Combs has been ordered to pay $2.45 million to a man who claims he was beaten by bodyguards the rap mogul hired to protect Mary J. Blige in 1995.

Cedrick Bobby Lemon alleged that Combs was Blige's manager at the time and that he hired the bodyguards for a performance at Joel Coliseum.

Judge William Z. Wood of Forsyth Civil Superior Court ordered the payment on Sept. 10 because Combs didn't answer the allegations within a 30-day time limit, according to court records.

"We have just learned of this lawsuit. As it has no merit whatsoever, we intend to take all necessary steps to have it dismissed," a spokeswoman for Combs said Tuesday.

Lemon, 32, said he was working as a limousine driver and had an identification badge permitting him to stand backstage.

The lawsuit says Lemon was punched by guards as they tried to clear the area to allow Blige to leave. It also alleges Lemon was kicked in the back and his right ankle was broken.

-- From wire reports