Catherine Rusoff
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ troubles continued on Tuesday when a lawsuit filed in New York federal court accused the hip-hop mogul of drugging and sexually assaulting a model in 2003.
The lawsuit was filed by Crystal McKinney under the New York Gender-Motivated Violence Law, which allows victims of gender-based violence in the city to sue their attackers, regardless of when the abuse occurred. The deadline for filing lawsuits under this law expires in 2025.
McKinney is also suing Combs’ record label, Bad Boy Entertainment, his record label’s distributor, Universal Music Group, and Combs’ fashion brand, Sean John Clothing.
According to the suit, McKinney, then 22, who was an up-and-coming model, was introduced to Combs by an unidentified stylist in 2003. The suit alleges that the designer dressed and styled McKinney “to ensure that Combs found her attractive ” before taking her to meet Combs at Cipriani Downtown, a New York restaurant.
According to the lawsuit, Combs made a series of flirtatious and sexually suggestive comments about McKinney’s appearance in front of the other dinner guests, including the fashion designer. Later that night, Combs allegedly invited McKinney to his recording studio, where he drank alcohol and smoked marijuana with several male companions, the lawsuit states.
The suit says Comb passed a joint to McKinney, saying, “You’ve never had marijuana like this before,” which McKinney interpreted to mean the marijuana was mixed with some other drug.
“Although plaintiff insisted that she was fed up after that, Combs pressured her to drink more alcohol and marijuana, telling her that she was acting very uptight,” the lawsuit says.
After McKinney became “very intoxicated,” the lawsuit states, Combs took her to the bathroom and forced her to perform oral sex on him. Afterwards, she claims she lost consciousness and woke up in a taxi.
CBS News has reached out to Combs’ representatives for comment. Universal Music Group declined to comment “pending legal review of the lawsuit.”
DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images
McKinney claims that her modeling opportunities disappeared after the alleged incident because Combs had “‘refused’ her in the industry and used his significant influence to prevent [her] career growth.” According to the lawsuit, in the years following the alleged incident, McKinney became anxious, depressed and addicted to drugs and alcohol, and she attempted suicide around 2004.
The lawsuit comes in the wake of a security video broadcast by CNN on Friday that allegedly shows Combs attacking singer Cassie in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. Combs on Sunday publicly apologized for the incident, saying his behavior was “inexcusable” and that he takes “full responsibility” for his actions.
Earlier this month, Combs asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that he and two co-defendants raped a 17-year-old girl in a New York recording studio in 2003saying it was a “false and heinous allegation” that was filed too late according to the law.
In March, Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by homeland security investigations agents and other law enforcement officials due to an ongoing possible sex trafficking investigation, U.S. officials said at the time.
Other accusations against the music mogul include those made by two women in November last year, a week after he settled a separate lawsuit with singer Cassie which contained allegations of rape and physical abuse. The women’s actions were filed on the eve of the deadline the Adult Survivors Acta New York law that allows victims of sexual abuse a one-year period to file a civil lawsuit, regardless of the statute of limitations.
In February, a male music producer also filed a federal lawsuit against Combs accusing him of sexual misconduct.
