Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - 5 Shocking Claims in New P. Diddy Rape Lawsuit

Episode Date: September 27, 2024

Thalia Graves has sued Sean "Diddy" Combs and his former bodyguard, Joe Sherman, accusing them of raping her at Bad Boy Records in 2001. Graves said she was dating a Bad Boy employee at the time. The details in the suit are graphic and Graves claims the assault was videotaped. Sherman has denied he was a part of the alleged incident and plans to sue Graves. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy goes through some of the most disturbing allegations in the suit in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Download the FREE Upside App at https://upside.app.link/crimefix to get an extra 25 cents back for every gallon on your first tank of gas.Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this law and crimes series ad free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple podcasts or Spotify. The internal pain after being sexually assaulted has been incredibly deep and hard to put into words. Another woman files suit claiming Sean Diddy Combs and one of his bodyguards raped her. I lay out the disturbing claims from Thalia Graves' lawsuit and why this bodyguard says he's going to sue Graves. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Thalia Graves is the latest woman to come forward to file a civil lawsuit against Sean Diddy Combs. Graves is not only suing Combs, but she's also claiming his bodyguard in 2001,

Joe Big Joe Sherman, sexually assaulted her as well. Sherman adamantly denies that claim. And I'll tell you what he says he's going to do. He's taking some legal action here in a bit. But first, I want to set the scene for where we are right now with Sean Combs. He's in jail being held without bail on three federal charges, racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He's pleaded not guilty to those charges. And his attorney says Combs wants a speedy trial and that he's innocent. And he's actually telling a documentary produced by TMZ that Combs intends to testify at his trial whenever that will be held.

Sean Combs' legal troubles started last November when Combs' ex, Cassie Ventura, filed an explosive civil lawsuit claiming Combs sexually assaulted and beat her for years. Combs denied the claims but settled the case the next day. Cassie's lawsuit seemed to set the stage for other people to come forward. Remember, Sean Combs was and may still be one of the most powerful people in the music industry. He's been at the top of the business for decades. It would take a lot of courage to challenge him and to make these allegations. Combs denied the allegations Cassie made until he couldn't, at least the allegation Cassie made about being beaten. Last May, CNN aired a video of Combs beating Cassie

in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2016. A number of women have come forward and one man, record producer Rodney Little Rod Jones, claiming Combs sexually assaulted and drugged them. The lawsuit filed by Thalia Graves is the 11th in less than a year. It was time to file this lawsuit. Graves sat next to her attorney, Gloria Allred, and they discussed this lawsuit and the allegation that Combs and his bodyguard sexually assaulted her. The lawsuit filed by Graves alleges that Sean Diddy Combs and Joseph Big Joe Sherman violently raped her at the Bad Boy Records studio in New York in 2001. The suit says plaintiff was 25 at the time and dating one of Combs's employees, a relationship that Combs exploited to lure plaintiff into meeting him and Sherman alone. Once they successfully sequestered plaintiff, Combs and Sherman gave plaintiff a

drink, likely laced with a drug that eventually caused her briefly to lose consciousness. She awoke to find herself bound and restrained. In the suit, Graves claims that Combs raped her in more ways than one, and I won't go into exactly what it says. You can probably use your imagination. It also claims that Sherman forced her to perform oral sex after slamming her onto a table and slapping her. She claims that she cried and that that did not stop the attack. The suit says Graves never recovered from defendants' violent rape. She had suicidal thoughts and ideation and has received extensive psychological treatment because of defendants' attack. For decades, she remained silent and did not report the crime out of fear that defendants

would use their power to ruin her life, as they had repeatedly explicitly threatened to do. To this day, plaintiff suffers from severe depression, anxiety, and panic attacks, and still lives in fear of defendants. It continues, any progress plaintiff has made in healing from the attack over the years was dramatically reversed on or around November 27th, 2023, when she learned for the first time that Combs and Sherman had video recorded the horrific rape 22 years before and had shown the video to multiple men seeking to publicly degrade and humiliate both plaintiff and her boyfriend. I want to tell you about a great free app. It's called Upside, and it will give you cash back on food and gas. This is not a confusing rewards program. Upside transfers money

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on your first tank of gas. That's promo code crime fix for an extra 25 cents back on every gallon on your first fill up. So the suit says that Graves found out about the videotape on November 27th of last year. It makes you wonder, how did she find out about it? We know that Cassie Ventura had a copy of the tape that showed her being beaten by Combs. Is it possible that the tape came from her somehow? That's me thinking out loud, of course, really. This is speculation.

But the timing is interesting because that would be right after the time period where Cassie settled her suit with Sean Combs. Here's Graves' attorney, Gloria Allred, talking about that video. Complaint alleges that it was taken without her knowledge and consent, that she wouldn't have consented, that it was then published and viewed by others. And they still be out there. Now, Gloria Allred says she has not seen this tape for herself. She wouldn't comment on whether or not she or Thalia Graves have talked to the feds. But back to the lawsuit. Graves claims that Sean Combs exploited her relationship with her boyfriend and his employment at Bad Boy Records to get her a loan. According to the suit, plaintiff received a call from Combs concerning her boyfriend's employment at Bad Boy. He told her he wanted to meet with her in person to discuss her boyfriend's supposed

performance issues. Her boyfriend was determined to climb up the ladder at Combs' record label, and his romantic partner, Plaintiff, was committed to helping him. Plaintiff agreed to meet with Combs. In retrospect, it was evidently a sick and twisted way of using his ownership of and title at Bad Boy and its affiliate entities to abuse plaintiff and also show his power and ability to humiliate her boyfriend, his executive. The suit goes into more detail about what Graves claimed happened when she says Combs and Sherman picked her up at her mom's house in Queens. Combs offered her a glass of wine, which she accepted. Combs began discussing his alleged concerns about her boyfriend's

performance at work. Meanwhile, as plaintiff drank what had been handed to her, she started to feel lightheaded, dizzy, and physically weak. In retrospect, it is clear that Combs had caused a drug to be put into plaintiff's drink as a few sips of wine had never impacted her that way. Some of what I'm going to read next may be very, very upsetting to people. I want to warn you of that. When plaintiff regained consciousness, she was naked and her hands were tied behind her back with what felt like a plastic grocery bag. Plaintiff shouted for help. In response, Sherman lifted her up from the couch and forcefully slammed her face down on what was apparently a pool table. Shortly thereafter, Combs entered the room naked.

The suit described Combs using a lubricant that smelled like menthol, and Graves claiming she was placed on a table and sexually assaulted. The suit claims that Graves vomited during the attack and even defecated, but that it did not stop Combs. The suit claims, When she next awoke, Plaintiff was on the couch naked and alone in the room. Plaintiff was in severe pain and distress. Her dress was thrown over her.

Her purse was on the couch next to her, and her bra was on the floor nearby. She did not see her underpants. The suit describes Graves being in pain and having bruising on her wrists. The driver drove her to the hospital and tried to convince her to report the rape and get a rape kit, but she was unable to leave the car, shaking and crying hysterically and terrified of what Combs would do to her and her family

if she reported him. Thalia Graves spoke about how she claims this assault has impacted her, breaking down as she described the trauma. It goes beyond just physical harm caused by and during the assault. It's a pain that reaches into your very core of who you are and leaving emotional scars that may never fully heal. Some of the hardest parts of this pain are the shame and the guilt I have experienced that plays a negative part in my day-to-day ability to function properly. Being blamed, questioned, and threatened has often made me feel worthless, isolated, and sometimes responsible for what happened to me.

My family issues made the pain even worse. I was already going through a divorce at the time of the assault and did not get the support that I needed. I was also faced with disbelief and judgment, which has made me feel even more alone in my struggles. Graves also described the physical and emotional effects of the assault. It has been hard for me to trust others to form healthy relationships or even feel safe in my own skin. Flashbacks, nightmares, and intrusive thoughts make me feel like it's a constant struggle.

I also suffer with physical problems such as chronic pain, sexual discomfort. The violation I have experienced during the assault has had lasting effects on my body, causing ongoing health problems and complications. The combination of physical and emotional pain has created a cycle of suffering from which it is so hard to break free. 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.

As I mentioned earlier, one of Graves' attorneys is Gloria Allred. She was asked a number of questions, including whether Graves had been in touch with other Sean Combs' accusers. have investigated this claim or any investigation that may ensue after this press conference. I want to add that if any other person has any evidence that might relate to our complaint, we, of course, would be happy to speak on a confidential basis with any person who may wish to contact us and provide us whatever evidence they wish to provide. Joe Sherman, Sean Combs' former bodyguard, is also named in the suit, and he is denying he had any part in this alleged assault. In an Instagram post, he wrote,

Some of you may not understand there's two sides to every story. It's sad that the world is so one-sided right now. My publicist and lawyers are not allowing me to put up my side. They said they want to hold my evidence and everything for bigger days. So I'm hoping you'll can be patient with praying hands at the end. Sherman posted a lengthy statement with the Post saying his lawyers are preparing a defamation lawsuit. He wrote, Joseph Sherman, a respected figure in the entertainment industry and former celebrity bodyguard, vehemently denies the false and baseless accusations made against him in connection with Sean Diddy Combs and an alleged incident in 2001. At the time of the alleged

incident, Mr. Sherman was not employed by Mr. Combs and has never had any interaction with the accuser. Throughout his career, Mr. Sherman has upheld a reputation of professionalism and integrity, and he refuses to be associated with this fabricated story or this clear attempt at a money grab. The statement says Sherman's legal team is planning a defamation lawsuit. We stand by Mr. Sherman's innocence and are taking swift legal action to address this fraudulent claim. The false accusation is clearly an attempt to exploit the current situation involving Mr. Combs. Sean Combs' companies are also being sued as a part of this lawsuit. I reached out to Combs Global for a comment on the suit. At the time of this recording, I have not received a response.

Combs' civil attorney had previously denied allegations that he had ever raped or sexually trafficked anyone. Obviously, sex trafficking is not a part of the claims in Thalia Graves' lawsuit. So stay tuned. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Annette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.