A former model has accused Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual assault in a new lawsuit filed Tuesday in New York.
The lawsuit alleges that in 2003, Combs assaulted model Crystal McKinney at his music studio after a Men’s Fashion Week dinner.
According to the suit, Combs invited McKinney, then 22, to the New York City space, where he and a group of men were drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. McKinney said she was offered a joint, which she later came to believe had been laced with a “narcotic or other intoxicating substance.”
After she “insisted that she had enough,” she said, Combs pressured her to continue drinking and smoking and “demanded” she follow him to the bathroom.
There, the suit alleges, Combs “forced himself” on McKinney, kissing her without her consent and pushing her head down to his crotch. Despite her refusals, she said, he then forced her to perform oral sex.
Combs then led McKinney back into the studio, where she passed out, according to the lawsuit. When she awoke, she was alone in a taxicab headed back to the home of an unnamed fashion designer who had introduced McKinney and Combs earlier that night. McKinney said that she realized she had been assaulted once she regained consciousness.
McKinney’s attorneys were not immediately available to clarify whether her realization was in regard to the allegations of forced oral sex, or to some other event that occurred while she was unconscious.
Combs faces multiple allegations of sexual assault dating back decades. He’s also the subject of a federal inquiry into sex trafficking allegations. His representatives did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.
McKinney’s lawsuit comes days after surveillance video from 2016 showed Combs beating up his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, who filed a lawsuit against Combs in November that accused him of rape. That suit was quickly settled, but Combs has since denied the allegations.
In a video released Saturday, Combs apologized for the actions captured on camera.
“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” Combs said in his Instagram apology. “I was f— up — I hit rock bottom — but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video.”
According to McKinney’s lawsuit, the former model felt a “moral obligation” to come forward with her account after Ventura and four others accused Combs of sexual misconduct.
Following the alleged sexual assault, McKinney said, she was “blackballed” from the modeling industry, experienced anxiety and depression, and in 2004 attempted suicide.
“Combs’ assault has altered the trajectory of [McKinney’s] career,” the suit states. “To this day, [McKinney] faces bouts of depression, anxiety, body image issues, feelings of worthlessness and intimacy issues because of Combs’ assault.”
The lawsuit also names Combs’ businesses, Bad Boy Records and Sean John Clothing, and music label Universal Music, as defendants, saying they had enabled Combs’ alleged behavior.
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