After being arrested by federal agents in New York last week, Sean "Diddy" Combs has been hit with yet another sexual assault lawsuit. This new claim comes from a woman named Thalia Graves who alleges that Combs and one of his employees raped her in 2001.
As reported by Pitchfork, Graves filed her complaint today (September 24) in a New York federal court.
The following article contains potentially triggering material relating to sexual assault and violence. If you believe you have experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct and are looking for support, consult the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime to find resources in your area.
According to the lawsuit, Graves met Combs "in or around late 1999 or early 2000 through her then-boyfriend, who was an executive at [Diddy's] Bad Boy [Records]."
"Around the summer of 2001," Graves claims Combs called her and said that "he wanted to meet with her in person to discuss her boyfriend's supposed performance issues." She says that she agreed to the meeting and was picked up by Combs and "his bodyguard and head of security" Joseph "Big Joe" Sherman.
Graves accepted a glass of wine from Combs while in the SUV, after which "she started to feel lightheaded, dizzy and physically weak." The suit claims that, "In retrospect, it is clear that Combs had caused a drug to be put into Plaintiff's drink, as a few sips of wine had never impacted her that way."
Eventually, Graves, Combs and Sherman arrived at Combs's New York recording studio, and Graves claims that she lost consciousness. When she came to, Graves "was naked, and her hands were tied behind her back with what felt like a plastic grocery bag," according to the lawsuit. She says that she "shouted for help," at which point "Sherman lifted her up from the couch and forcefully slammed her face down on what was apparently a pool table."
The lawsuit sates that shortly after, "Combs entered the room naked" and anally and vaginally raped Graves. She says she lost consciousness again before awakening with Sherman "standing in front of her with his bare penis in her face." The bodyguard then "slapped [her] in the face and forcefully inserted his penis into her mouth."
The complaint continues, stating that after losing and regaining consciousness again, Graves "quickly got dressed and bolted out of the studio room" and "called a livery driver" to pick her up. "The driver drove her to the hospital and tried to convince her to report the rape and get a rape kit, but she was unable to leave the car, 'shaking and crying hysterically' and terrified of what Combs would do to her and her family if she reported him."
Graves was 25 years old at the time of the alleged assault, and says she was "afraid to report what had happened" because of Diddy's "power and notoriety."
According to the complaint, Graves also learned last year that Combs filmed the alleged assault and showed it to "a group of men" that included her former boyfriend.
Combs's current charges are for racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. His attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said he plans to plead not guilty.