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According to a report by USA Today on November 8, 2024, Joseph Sherman, the former bodyguard of Diddy, has filed a lawsuit against Thalia Graves, who claimed that both Sherman and the rapper “viciously r**ed” her in 2001. Suing Thalia for defamation and emotional distress, Joseph claimed that Graves’ allegations were “utterly false and untrue.”
Filing his complaint in the New York Federal Court on Friday, November 8, 2024, Sherman claimed that Graves and her legal team were trying to “blackmail him.” USA Today reported that he stated in his lawsuit that he worked for Diddy in 1999, and left long before the alleged assault took place.
“Joseph Sherman has never met Thalia Graves, let alone r*ped her. Plainly said, the Plaintiff, Joseph Sherman, was not even allowed into Bad Boy Records studios or near Sean Combs after 1999. Consequently, he could not have videotaped or r*ped Thalia Graves,” the complaint reportedly read.
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Furthermore, Hiphop DX also reported that the lawsuit where Joseph has demanded $100 million for damages, also included many screenshots that were allegedly sent to Sherman by Graves, where she reportedly asked him to share a fake testimony against Diddy in exchange for being left out of the legal battle.
“If you are willing to give me a statement about my r*pe against Puffy then the attorneys won’t go after you for revenge p*rn or distribution of a s*xual act without consent,” the texts allegedly read.
Thalia Graves filed the lawsuit against Diddy and Joseph Sherman in September 2024: More details revealed as the former bodyguard files a defamation suit
Filing her lawsuit in September 2024, Thalia Graves became one of the many women who have come forward after Diddy’s arrest claiming to have been r*ped and s*xually assaulted by the rapper. In her lawsuit filed in the Manhattan federal court, Thalia alleged that Joseph and Sean Combs not only r*ped her, but also recorded the act on camera, and allegedly distributed the video.
As per The Guardian, the court papers mentioned that Graves came in contact with the rapper as she visited Diddy’s Bad Boy Studio in New York often with her boyfriend. She claimed in her lawsuit:
"Graves’s boyfriend was determined to climb up the ladder at Combs’ record label and as his romantic partner, she was committed to helping him. She agreed, and several hours later Combs came to her house; his security chief, Joseph Sherman, was driving. When Graves got into Combs’s SUV, he gave her a glass of wine, which she drank.”
The lawsuit further revealed that she felt dizzy and weak, adding,
“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. When Graves woke up, she was naked, and her hands were tied behind her back with what felt like a plastic grocery bag.”
However, almost two months after Thalia Graves filed the lawsuit, Joseph Sherman’s counter-complaint became headlines as the lawsuit mentioned that the former bodyguard “continues to suffer severe reputational harm, emotional distress, and financial damages" due to the complaint.
As the lawsuits continue to create headlines, Thalia Graves has not yet responded to the news about Joseph accusing her of defamation. Furthermore, Diddy’s lawyers and representatives have also not spoken up yet on the matter.
