A woman has accused music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and his bodyguard of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 2001 and filming it, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court in New York on September 24.
Thalia Graves said she met Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs when she was 25 through her then-boyfriend who worked at Combs’ Bad Boy Records.
In the summer of 2001, while in a car with rapper Diddy and Joseph Sherman, her bodyguard and security chief, she accepted an offer of a glass of wine and began to feel “dizzy, lightheaded, and physically weak,” the lawsuit states.
PHOTO: CNN
Graves passed out, then woke up naked in a Manhattan, New York, studio with her hands tied behind her back. Rapper Diddy entered the room and raped her. He slammed her head into a pool table when she tried to resist, according to the lawsuit. Bodyguard Sherman sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious, the lawsuit states.
At a press conference on September 24 with attorney Gloria Allred in Los Angeles, Graves spoke through tears about the sexual assault that left her physically and mentally traumatized.
“The combination of physical and emotional pain has created a period of suffering that has been very difficult to escape. I want to continue this journey of recovery and healing. I am glad that Combs is locked up, but it is only temporary relief,” Graves said through tears.
The lawsuit is the latest sexual battery allegation against 54-year-old Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, and comes a week after he was indicted on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and engaging in prostitution. Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was denied bail and was held in federal custody, according to a federal judge’s order.
The indictment alleges that Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs led a “criminal enterprise” with associates and other employees that hosted drug-fueled “crazy parties” with victims, documented instances of physical and sexual abuse, and shed light on the use of multiple weapons found during a raid on his home in March 2024.
Diddy is also charged in 10 other civil lawsuits related to sexual misconduct and other illegal activities.
PHOTO: CNN
After the attack, Graves was in so much pain that a taxi driver drove her to the hospital. However, she could not leave the car because she was “shaking and crying profusely, afraid of what Combs would do to her and her family if he called the police,” according to the lawsuit.
Graves alleges that as a result of the rape, she suffered from severe depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and attempted suicide multiple times.
According to the lawsuit, in November 2023, Graves learned from her ex-boyfriend that Combs and Sherman had recorded and released videos of the sexual assault for others to see.
The lawsuit alleges that Combs, Sherman, and businesses associated with Combs violated the New York State Gender-Based Violence Victims Protection Act, and also alleges that Combs and Sherman violated state civil rights laws and city administrative laws.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, on September 23, where he is completely isolated from the public and is not allowed to enter.