Diddy’s ex-bodyguard sues rape accuser for defamation

On November 9, 2024By Pranco

A bodyguard that was mentioned in a September lawsuit he claimed that and Sean “Diddy” Combs In 2001, a woman was violently raped. The plaintiff is now being sued for defamation and emotional distress.

Joseph Sherman sued Thalia Graves in New York federal court on Friday, according to a filing reviewed by USA TODAY, with his attorneys calling Graves’ allegations “completely false and untrue.” They claimed his work with Combs in 1999, years before the alleged events in Graven’s lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, Sherman’s attorneys say Graves and her legal team are trying to “blackmail” him, adding that Graves and her attorneys have made “outrageous, disgusting and life-altering statements … without any regard for the truth.” They continued, “Joseph Sherman has never met Thalia Graves, let alone raped her.”

According to his filing, Sherman “continues to suffer serious reputational damage, emotional distress and financial harm” as a result of Graves’ lawsuit. He also accuses Graves of sending messages and asking him to provide “false testimony against Sean Combs” in exchange for dismissal of the legal proceedings.

An attorney for Graves declined to comment. USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Combs and Sherman for comment.

Thalia Graves’ lawsuit accused Diddy’s former bodyguard Joseph Sherman of drugging and raping her

Graves filed her lawsuit in September in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY at the time.

In her complaint, Graves said she was dating one of Combs’ employees at the time and alleged that Combs and Sherman were drugged, tied up and raped at the Bad Boy Records studio in New York City around the summer of 2001. She sought help from the court. for gender-based violence and violating New York law by allegedly recording and sharing images of her assault.

Graves held a press conference with her lawyer, the famous lawyer Gloria Allredafter she filed her lawsuit. An emotional Graves appeared to gain her composure before making her statement.

“The internal pain after sexual abuse was incredibly deep and difficult to put into words,” Graves said, crying. “It goes beyond just physical damage caused by and during the attack.”

In November 2023, Graves learned that Combs and Sherman had recorded their alleged attack on her, according to her lawsuit. She claimed that they showed the footage to “multiple men, who wanted to publicly humiliate and humiliate both (Graves) and her boyfriend,” and that they also sold it as pornography.

Graves claimed that when she contacted Sherman in an attempt to convince him to destroy the sex tape or give it to her, he did not respond.

In compensation, Graves is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, as well as an injunction requiring Combs and Sherman to destroy all copies and images of the video of her alleged assault and to refrain from distributing the footage in the future.

Graves’ lawsuit is part of about 30 civil cases submitted last year who have accused Combs of sexual and physical assault, sex trafficking, battery and gender discrimination, among other crimes. He has maintained his innocence in all these cases and in September pleaded not guilty to criminal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

If you are a survivor of sexual violence, RAIN provides support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and in Spanish RAINN.org/es.