Music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs, currently awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges, was slapped with a new lawsuit on Tuesday, accusing him of 'drugging and raping' a woman in 2001.
The lawsuit, filed in a New York federal court by Thalia Graves, alleges that Combs, along with his bodyguard, Joseph Sherman, sexually assaulted her at the Bad Boy Records studio in Manhattan after drugging her. Graves claims she was given a drink that caused her to lose consciousness, after which she awoke “bound and restrained” as Combs and Sherman “proceeded to brutally sexually abuse and violate her.”
According to the complaint, Graves was lured to the studio by Combs under the pretence of discussing her boyfriend’s job performance at the label. Sherman, Combs' bodyguard at the time, picked her up and brought her to the studio, where she was given a drink that left her feeling “lightheaded, dizzy, and physically weak,” as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Graves alleges that when she regained consciousness, she was naked, with her hands tied behind her back. Her lawyer, Gloria Allred, claims that the incident was recorded and sold as pornography. The lawsuit also alleges that Combs had a pattern of non-consensually recording women while engaged in sexual acts and later selling the videos.
In a text message referenced in the lawsuit, a Bad Boy artist corroborated the allegations, stating that Sherman was known to sell pornography featuring himself and the women he assaulted.
This is the latest in a series of legal battles for Combs, who is already facing multiple lawsuits, including one from singer Cassie Ventura, which led to a federal investigation into allegations of sex trafficking and racketeering. Many of the complaints against Combs suggest that employees and directors of his businesses were aware of and facilitated the alleged crimes.
Combs remains in jail where he awaits trial.
