Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a young model in the early 2000s.
In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Crystal McKinney alleges that Diddy, then 34, assaulted the 22-year-old model at his New York City studio in 2003 and forced her to perform oral sex.
McKinney also claims that the hip-hop star “shut her out” of the modeling industry, ruining her career, despite previously promising to help her with work. The ordeal is said to have led to a deterioration in McKinney’s mental health, leaving her suffering from “depression, anxiety, body image issues, feelings of worthlessness and intimacy issues.”
In recent months, Combs, 54, has faced a series of sexual assault lawsuits alleging he raped or sexually assaulted multiple women over the past few decades. His Los Angeles home was reportedly searched by Homeland Security Investigations agents in March in connection with an ongoing sex trafficking investigation in New York.
McKinney, described as a “woman of faith,” said she felt a “moral obligation” to come forward with her own experience after seeing media coverage of Diddy’s legal woes.
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McKinney “feared further violence or retaliation from Defendant Combs and prayed to God before filing this lawsuit, but ultimately decided that she needed to tell the truth,” the complaint states. . She is “seeking justice for herself and Combs’ other alleged victims.”
Combs’ companies Bad Boy Records, Sean John Clothing, and Universal Music Group are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for McKinney and Combs for comment.
Crystal McKinney details sexual assault allegations by Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
In the lawsuit, McKinney claims she met Combs after being invited to a Men’s Fashion Week event at New York City restaurant Cipriani Downtown by an unnamed fashion designer.
During the dinner, Combs allegedly “openly displayed sexual advances toward (Mr. McKinney)” and repeatedly poured wine into Mr. McKinney’s glass and forced him to drink.
According to McKinney’s filing, the music mogul told the model he intended to help advance her career and gave her his phone number “as a sign of good faith.” McKinney won MTV’s Model Mission contest in 1998, and she previously modeled for Tommy Hilfiger.
According to the lawsuit, Combs invited McKinney back to his studio later that night, where she smoked marijuana with the “Hello Good Morning” rapper and his associates. McKinney claims the marijuana joint “felt very potent” and was laced with “narcotics or other intoxicating substances.”
Shortly after, Combs allegedly took McKinney to the bathroom, where he forced himself on top of her and kissed her “without her consent,” according to the lawsuit, after which McKinney claims Combs “pushed McKinney’s head into his groin” and forced her to perform oral sex on him.
After the assault, McKinney began to feel increasingly “dizzy” and then lost consciousness, according to the lawsuit. The model then woke up in a taxi, which took her back to the fashion designer’s apartment.
Crystal McKinney says Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs ‘threatened’ her in the modeling industry over assault charges
McKinney claims in her lawsuit that she was “blackballed” as her “modeling opportunities began to rapidly dwindle and then completely evaporate” following Diddy’s alleged assault.
The suit says the model fell into a “dive of anxiety and depression” and attempted suicide around 2004, resulting in her being hospitalized.
“Mr. Combs’ assault changed the trajectory of (Mr. McKinney’s) career, costing him a successful and well-paying career in the modeling and film industries,” the complaint states.
McKinney, a former model, said in her lawsuit that Combs’ assault caused her to suffer from alcohol and drug addiction, as well as relationship problems.
The lawsuit was filed under New York’s Gender-Motivated Violence Victims Protection Act, which provides a two-year retroactive period for victims of gender-motivated violence to seek legal action against their perpetrators, regardless of when the abuse occurred.
McKinney is requesting a jury trial in the case. She is also seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for “mental and emotional injuries, distress, pain and suffering, and injury to her reputation.”
Contributor: Naledi Uche, USA TODAY
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline provides survivors and their loved ones with a confidential, 24/7 service in English and Spanish. We offer free support: 800-656-HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN. org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
