A 53-year-old woman has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Sean “Diddy†Combs had her tied up naked and “viciously raped†her at his Bad Boy Records studio in New York City†in the summer of 2001.
In the lawsuit, Thalia Graves alleges she was just 25 and was dating one of Combs’s employees when she was lured to a meeting with Combs and his bodyguard Joseph “Big Joe†Sherman alone. In the car on the way there, she alleges she was given a “likely laced†drink that caused her to briefly lose consciousness, according to the 26-page lawsuit filed in Manhattan’s federal court.
She alleges that Combs and Sherman picked her up from her mother’s house in Queens and told her they wanted her to come to the office to talk about her then-boyfriend’s employment at Bad Boy. Thalia claims Combs gave her a glass of wine in the car that made her feel physically weak and that she was unable to walk out of the car. Combs then, she claims, ushered her into his private room at the Bad Boy studio, where she lost consciousness.
When she awoke, Thalia alleges she was naked with her hands tied behind her back, and she screamed for help. She alleges that Diddy sexually assaulted her and raped her multiple times. “Both men were undeterred by Plaintiff’s cries for help throughout the attack,†the suit states.
Thalia alleges that she never fully recovered from the violent assault and needed extensive psychological treatment and continues to suffer from severe depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. She didn’t report the crime because she was scared; Combs and Sherman “repeatedly, explicitly threatened†to ruin her life. She said considered suicide when she learned last year around November 27, 2023, that Combs and Sherman had recorded the rape and shown the video to multiple men.
Thalia and her attorney Gloria Allred announced the filing of the lawsuit against Combs and Sherman at a press conference held at Allred’s office. Thalia, wearing a white jacket, sat by Allred’s side and tearfully recounted the trauma that she said was inflicted on her by Combs and Sherman.
“The violations that I have experienced during the assault have had lasting effects on my body, causing ongoing health problems and complications,†Thalia said during a press conference with her attorney, Gloria Allred, at her side on September 24. “I want to continue on this journey toward recovery and healing. I am glad that he is locked up, but that’s a temporary feeling of relief.â€