Diddy’s Former Bodyguard Joseph Sherman Responds to Drugging and Sexual Assault Allegations from Thalia Graves: “This is a Money Grab”

Joseph Sherman, the former bodyguard of Sean “Diddy”Combs, has recently responded to allegations made by Thalia Graves, who claims that both men s*xually assaulted her in 2001. According to USA Today, on September 24, 2024, Graves filed a lawsuit against Sherman and Combs in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging they brutally r*ped her in the Bad Boys Record studio and recorded the act without her consent.

The lawsuit further claims that Sherman and Combs distributed the video of the alleged assault as p*rnography. In a statement to The Daily Mail, Sherman vehemently denied the accusations, asserting he had never met Thalia Graves. He characterized the lawsuit as a “money grab,”stating:

“I know for a fact that this is a money grab. I’ve never seen this lady. Don’t have any tape of her like she says I have. I’ve never seen her. I never did anything with her. I don’t know, none of this. I don’t even know this lady.”

In her lawsuit, Thalia Graves alleged that Diddy and Joseph Sherman invited her to the studio under the pretense of discussing her boyfriend’s performance, who was working with the rapper at the time. She claimed the men offered her a drink that had been drugged, rendering her unconscious. Upon regaining consciousness, she alleged she found herself “bound and restrained.”

At the time, Graves was 25 years old and purported that Diddy “mercilessly r*ped her.”She also stated that Joseph Sherman forcibly slammed her onto a table and “repeatedly thrust his pen*s into her mouth.”

Joseph Sherman Denies Participation in Diddy’s Alleged Activities

Joseph Sherman, also known as Big Joe, described the lawsuit filed by Thalia Graves as a “shake down,”asserting he is being scapegoated due to his race. He elaborated that following Diddy’s recent arrest, individuals within his circle are unfairly perceived as “automatically guilty.”

“This lady, with the help of others, is only doing this because Sean Combs is incarcerated, just like so many other people. I’m a father. I have four daughters. I have been crucified before by the government,”Sherman stated.

“I understand the power of the government. I understand proof is irrelevant when you’re a black man in America. But because I’m a black man, they’re using me as a pawn and a scapegoat for issues that I had nothing to do with whatsoever,”Joseph Sherman added.

Sherman has maintained his innocence and expressed his willingness to undergo a lie detector test to demonstrate his lack of guilt. He emphasized that he has served as an “honorable bodyguard”to over 30 celebrities.

Additionally, Sherman stated that he never participated in Diddy’s alleged “freak offs,”claiming the only gathering he attended was a respectable party in the Hamptons in 1999.

According to Diddy’s indictment, “freak offs”included extensive s*xual acts that Diddy allegedly organized by coercing and drugging women to engage in s*x with male escorts, often filmed without consent.

Joseph Sherman Claims Thalia Graves Attempted to Contact Him

In his statement to The Daily Mail, Joseph Sherman noted that Thalia Graves had been attempting to reach him via Instagram for over five months before filing her lawsuit.

In her legal filing, Graves claimed she was unaware that a video of her alleged r*pe was circulating until November 2023, detailing that the video was shown to “multiple men”for the purpose of “publicly degrading and humiliating”her.

She also alleged that she reached out to Sherman, requesting him to destroy the video, but he never responded. In her lawsuit, Graves reported suffering from “severe depression, anxiety, and panic attacks”since the alleged incident in 2001 and experienced suicidal thoughts following the attack, necessitating “extensive psychological treatment.”

In her lawsuit, Graves has requested a trial by jury, seeking compensation and punitive damages. She has also asked the court to mandate the destruction of all copies of the alleged video by Combs and Sherman.

For context, Diddy’s legal issues began in November 2023, when his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura accused him of r*pe and years of abuse. The case was settled out of court, with Diddy denying the allegations. However, a CCTV video recorded in 2016 revealing physical assault against Ventura was made public in May 2024.

On September 16, 2024, Diddy was arrested on multiple charges, including “racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.”After being denied bail twice, he was detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center, with his next hearing set for October 9.

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