Diddy's Former Bodyguard Sues Rape Accuser for Defamation

1 week ago 3

Diddy's former bodyguard has filed a defamation lawsuit against a woman accusing them of bounding and raping her in 2001.

Joseph Sherman Sues Thalia Graves

On Nov. 7, Diddy's former security guard Joseph "Big Joe" Sherman sued Thalia Graves in United States Court for the Southern District of New York, according to court documents obtained by XXL on Monday (Nov. 11). The lawsuit accuses Graves of defamation, negligence, vexatious litigation, malicious prosecution, intentional infliction of emotional distress and more. Specifically, Sherman calls Graves' accusations that he was involved in her alleged sexual assault a complete fabrication.

"The Plaintiff has never met the Defendant, never engaged any sexual or non-consensual physical interaction with her, and did not participate in the events alleged," the lawsuit reads.

Furthermore, the lawsuit claims Graves attempted to blackmail Sherman into providing false testimony against Diddy in alleged texts.

"Lif you will be my witness against Diddy, then my attorneys will leave you out of any proceedings ..." one text reads, according to the suit. "I will make sure the state does not pick up charges or rape charges against you," reads another.

In an Instagram post about the lawsuit, Sherman claims he is seeking $100 million in damages.

"Let the war began I want a 100 million," he captioned the post below.

Sherman's attorney, Darnell Crosland, has released the following statment to XXL in response to the recently filed lawsuit.

"When we think of the [Me Too] movement we must not forget the thousands of men who have been falsely accused who are screaming [Me too]," the statement reads. "Innocent victims of false claims that continue to suffer as a result. And these wrongly accused men aren’t the only victims of false claims, in fact, the thousands of women who are truly sexually assaulted are hurt by these financially motivated claims, because no one hears their cries. The defendants in this lawsuit need to be held responsible for their actions and they need to understand that a 'cash grab' based on false claims hurts more people than they can imagine in more ways than they can imagine."

Graves initially filed suit against Diddy and Sherman on Sept. 24, claiming she was sexually assaulted by both men when she was 25 years old, back in 2001. Graves claims she had a meeting with Diddy at a Manhattan recording studio to discuss her boyfriend's musical career when she was given a drink that made her pass out. She claims she was bound when she regained consciousness and alleges Diddy proceeded to rape her while Sherman forced her to perform oral sex.

Sherman has vehemently denied the claims since they were levied back in September. In October, he went on NBC 4 New York in an attempt to clear his name. He confirmed he was not even working for Diddy at the time Graves claims the incident took place. He also insisted Graves' suit was a money grab and provided the alleged text evidence.