Sean “Diddy” Combs has been accused of sexual assault in a new lawsuit filed by a woman who claims the hip-hop mogul assaulted her in a recording studio bathroom in 2003.
According to the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in New York by attorneys Michelle Caiola and Jonathan Goldhirsch, Crystal McKinney claims she met Combs at a Men’s Fashion Week dinner in Manhattan, invited by a fashion designer she knew. During the dinner, McKinney alleges that Combs came onto her “in a sexually suggestive manner” and invited her to hang out at his recording studio.
After arriving at the studio, where McKinney says several other men were present, she claims she was given alcohol and a marijuana joint that she later believed was laced “with a narcotic or other intoxicating substance.” She alleges that Combs then led her to a bathroom, began kissing her without her consent, shoved her head into his crotch, and forced her to perform oral sex despite her protests.
McKinney, who was working as a professional model at the time, claims she later “awakened in shock” to find herself in a taxi heading back to the apartment of the designer who had invited her to the dinner. At this point, she “realized that she had been sexually assaulted by Combs,” the complaint states. Following the alleged assault, McKinney claims her “modeling opportunities quickly began to dwindle and then evaporated entirely” after Combs allegedly “blackballed” her in the industry. She states that she fell into “a tailspin of anxiety and depression,” attempted suicide in 2004, and later turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with the trauma.
The lawsuit was filed under the NYC Gender Motivated Violence Act, which created a two-year lookback window beginning in March 2023 that allows survivors of gender-motivated violence to sue their abusers for incidents that occurred outside the statute of limitations.
Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are Combs’ label Bad Boy Records, its parent company Universal Music Group, and Combs’ clothing company Sean John Clothing. McKinney claims these entities “enabled” the alleged assault by “actively maintaining and employing Combs in a position of power” despite allegedly knowing that Combs posed a risk of sexual assault.
McKinney is seeking damages for mental and emotional injury, distress, pain and suffering, and injury to her reputation, as well as punitive damages and other relief.
This lawsuit marks the sixth sexual misconduct case filed against Combs in recent months. The series of lawsuits began with a November 2023 complaint filed by his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura, who alleged repeated abuse by Combs over more than a decade.
Although Ventura’s lawsuit was settled just one day later, a 2016 security video published by CNN on May 17 showed Combs physically assaulting Ventura in a hotel hallway. Though Combs denied all of Ventura’s initial allegations, he issued an apology for his behavior in the video, calling it “inexcusable.” L.A. District Attorney George Gascón later stated that Combs could not be prosecuted for the assault due to the statute of limitations.
Combs has strongly denied all allegations of sexual assault. On December 6, he released a statement saying, “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family, and for the truth.”
In November, Combs stepped down as chairman of his digital media company Revolt before reportedly selling his stake in the company in March. Also in March, federal agents conducted raids of Combs’ L.A. and Miami homes “in connection” with a federal sex trafficking investigation, according to CNN.
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