(This story has been updated to include additional details and a photo.)

A woman has filed a lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs, accusing him of sexual assault that allegedly occurred in the early 2000s. This legal action comes as the well-known hip-hop figure is currently in federal custody due to a sex trafficking indictment.

Thalia Graves submitted her lawsuit on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, as reported by YSL News. According to the court documents, Graves claims that she was involved with one of Combs’ employees at the time and alleges that both Combs and his then-bodyguard, Joseph “Big Joe” Sherman, “brutally raped her” at the Bad Boy Records studio in New York City in the summer of 2001.

Graves is suing both Combs and Sherman on charges of gender-motivated violence, as well as violating New York law by allegedly recording and sharing footage of her assault.

In addition to Combs and Sherman, several of Combs’ businesses, including Bad Boy Records, are mentioned in Graves’ 26-page complaint.

YSL News has reached out to Combs’ representatives for a statement.

Combs has been under investigation for sex trafficking and faced federal raids. He was arrested on September 16 and charged with racketeering, sex trafficking, and facilitating prostitution, with two requests for bail being denied, leading him to stay in federal custody.

Thalia Graves Claims Drugging and Violent Assault by Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

In her legal complaint, Graves states that Combs took advantage of his connection with her then-boyfriend, who was a Bad Boy Records executive, to entice her into a meeting with Combs and Sherman regarding her boyfriend’s “work performance.”

During this meeting, Graves asserts they gave her a glass of wine, which she believes was “possibly drugged,” resulting in her losing consciousness. She states that she later woke up feeling “bound and restrained.”

At the age of 25, Graves alleges that Combs, then 32, “brutally assaulted her both anally and vaginally,” while Sherman “violently pushed” her onto a table and slapped her, “repeatedly forcing his penis into her mouth.” Despite her “pleas for help during the attack,” she claims the men showed no mercy.

Graves did not report the assault at the time out of fear that Combs and Sherman “would utilize their influence to destroy her life, as they had explicitly threatened,” according to the lawsuit.

She reportedly experienced suicidal thoughts following the incident and has undergone “significant psychological treatment” since then, suffering from “severe depression, anxiety, and panic attacks,” as stated in her complaint.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Allegedly Filmed the Assault, According to Lawsuit

In November 2023, Graves allegedly became aware that Combs and Sherman had filmed the assault, as indicated in her lawsuit. She claims that they showed the video to “multiple men to publicly humiliate and degrade” both her and her boyfriend, even going so far as to sell the footage as pornography.

When Graves attempted to contact Sherman to persuade him to destroy the tape or return it to her, he reportedly ignored her.

Graves described her disbelief that Combs and Sherman would film themselves committing such a heinous act and then widely distribute it, as noted in the lawsuit.

She felt devastated and fell into a severe depression, even contemplating suicide once more.

Her attorney claims that filming the alleged assault breaches New York Civil Rights Law 52-B, as she was “shown in a video unclothed, with intimate parts visible and engaging in sexual actions with another person.”

Furthermore, they assert that the unauthorized distribution of Graves’ assault video violates New York City Administrative Code 10-180, according to her complaint.

Graves is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, along with a court order to require Combs and Sherman to destroy all copies of the video and prevent future distribution of the footage.

Graves is also asking for a jury trial.

This lawsuit aims to hold Combs and Sherman accountable for their “brutal, misogynistic, and violent actions” against Graves, which began with the alleged rape in 2001 and continued as they humiliated her by sharing the video of the assault.

Suicide Lifeline: If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can reach out to the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 at any time, day or night, or chat online.

The Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7, confidential support via text message to individuals in crisis. Just text “HOME” to 741741.

If you have experienced sexual assault, RAINN offers assistance through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) or through their website at Hotline.RAINN.org.