Woman accuses Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and bodyguard of drugging and assaulting her in 2001 and filming it

By Eric Levenson, CNN

(CNN) — A woman accused music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and his bodyguard of drugging and assaulting her in 2001 and filming the attack, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in a federal court in New York.

Thalia Graves alleged that she met Combs when she was 25 through her boyfriend, who worked at Combs’ record label Bad Boy. Around the summer of 2001, while in a vehicle with Combs and Joseph Sherman, his bodyguard and head of security, she accepted his offer of a glass of wine and began to feel “lightheaded, dizzy and physically weak,” the lawsuit states.

She lost consciousness and later awoke naked in a studio in Manhattan with her hands tied behind her back, the lawsuit states. Combs came into the room and raped her, and he smashed her head into a pool table as she tried to resist, according to the lawsuit. Sherman sexually assaulted her as she came in and out of consciousness, the lawsuit states.

At a news conference Tuesday alongside attorney Gloria Allred, Graves spoke through tears about how the alleged assault had damaged her physically and emotionally.

“The combination of physical and emotional pain has created a cycle of suffering from which it is so hard to break free,” she said. “I want to continue on this journey towards recovery and healing. I’m glad that he is locked up, but that’s a temporary feeling of relief.”

In a statement, Sherman denied the “false and baseless accusations” against him and referred to the suit as a “clear attempt at a money grab.”

“These accusations are not only false but damaging to my character,” he said. “I have never met the accuser, and I was not working with Sean Combs during the time in question. I will be pursuing legal action to address this defamation and protect my name.”

CNN has reached out to representatives of Combs for comment.

The lawsuit is the latest allegation of sexual violence against Combs and comes a week after he was indicted on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs, 54, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was denied bail and will remain in federal detention, a federal judge ruled.

The indictment accused Combs of leading a “criminal enterprise” with other associates and employees, alleged he hosted drug-fueled “Freak Offs” with victims and male sex workers, noted instances of physical and sexual abuse and illuminated the weapons and large collection of baby oil and lubricant found during the March raids of his homes.

In addition, Diddy has been accused in at least 10 civil lawsuits alleging a range of sexual misconduct and other illegal activity.

After Graves was attacked, she was in pain and distress and got a ride with a livery driver to a hospital, the lawsuit states. However, she did not leave the car as she was “shaking and crying hysterically” and “terrified of what Combs would do to her and her family if she reported him,” according to the suit.

Because of the harm from the rape, Graves suffers from severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and has attempted suicide, she alleged.

In November 2023, she learned from her former boyfriend that Combs and Sherman had recorded and published video of the assault and shown it to others, according to the lawsuit.

The suit accuses Combs, Sherman and businesses associated with Combs of violating New York’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act, and it accuses Combs and Sherman of violating state civil rights law and city administrative code.

Combs was moved into a dorm-style room at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Monday, a space that he now shares with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez. The facility’s high-profile inmates stay in this larger holding unit that’s isolated from the general public and don’t go to prison common areas, a source told CNN.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Kara Scannell contributed to this report.