Trigger Warning: The details of this story are graphic and may be disturbing to some readers.
The bad news for Bad Boy Entertainment founder Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs just keeps rolling in. As he sits in jail awaiting federal prosecution, an 11th plaintiff has filed a lawsuit against him alleging sexual abuse.
Thalia Graves alleged in a newly filed civil suit that she was sexually assaulted by Combs and his bodyguard, Joseph Sherman, according to court documents obtained by The Root. The complaint alleges that during the summer of 2001, when she was 25 years old, she was lured by the two men into meeting them alone. The filing then claims she was given a laced drink that led her to lose consciousness. When she woke up, she states in the suit, she was bound and restrained.
The complaint then alleges the two men “brutally sexually abused” her. She claimed Combs raped her both anally and vaginally. She also claimed Sherman slammed her onto a table and forced his penis into her mouth. As a result, she claims she suffered burns on her private areas and bruises over her face and wrists. The suit says in November of 2023, she learned the alleged sexual assault was captured on video and allegedly shared to multiple men.
Following the horrifying incident, the lawsuit claims Graves suffered from suicidal thoughts and had to undergo extensive psychological treatment. The suit says she refrained from revealing these claims because she was afraid that Combs and Sherman would “use their power to ruin her life” as they had allegedly threatened to before. She was also afraid of losing custody of her young child, the suit says.
Graves accuses Combs of violating the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act and her civil rights. She demands compensatory and punitive damages, as well as ordering the destruction of any video or photo evidence of the alleged assault.
“Being blamed, questioned and threatened has often made me feel worthless, isolated and sometimes responsible for what happened to me,” said Thali Graves in a statement. “I want to continue on this journey toward recovery and healing. I am glad that [Combs] is locked up but that’s a temporary feeling of relief.”
11 Lawsuits Later...
This lawsuit is the 11th one filed so far, and followed the 54-year-old rap mogul’s arrest in Manhattan by federal authorities on Monday, Sept. 16. His indictment was unsealed the following morning, revealing charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and engaging in interstate transportation for prostitution. The allegations against Combs include sexual abuse, physical abuse, bribery and various drug offenses.
Combs’ arrest was roughly six months after federal authorities raided his two homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March 2024, and four months after damning video footage leaked of him brutally assaulting ex-girlfriend and Bad Boy Records signee Casandra “Cassie” Ventura at a hotel in 2016.
In November 2023, Combs was sued by Ventura in a civil suit that accused him of sex trafficking, human trafficking, sexual battery, sexual assault, and other allegations. Combs quickly settled the suit within 24 hours, but lawsuits from other associates have quickly followed in the months since.
While many of the suits since 2023 have been civil, this federal case has Combs facing criminal charges. He has pleaded not guilty, and was denied bail.
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