Kriti MehrotraIt was in late 2023 when Sean “Puffy” Combs’ AKA P. Diddy’s entire world turned upside down as his former partner Cassie Ventura filed an abuse and sexual assault lawsuit against him. That’s because, as carefully explored in HBO Max’s ‘Fall of Diddy,’ it sparked several other alleged survivors to also come forward with their claims because there is strength in numbers. Amongst them was none other than Thalia Graves, a Texas native who had first come across the music mogul through her then-boyfriend while residing in New York around the late 1990s.
Thalia Graves Filed Her Lawsuit Over Two Decades After the Alleged Incident
While not much about Thalia Graves’ early years or background is public knowledge as of writing, we do know she hails from Houston, Texas, but had moved to Queens, New York, as a teenager. Therefore, she completed her education in this area, too, shortly after which she tied the knot with a man she believed to be her forever love and welcomed a daughter into this world. Little did the Indian-origin family woman know that by the time the late 1990s would roll around, they would be acrimoniously fighting over their young child’s custody upon getting a divorce.
According to Thalia’s account, it was during this time that she became involved with an employee at Bad Boy Records, which is how she gradually became acquainted with P. Diddy, too. In fact, per her filings, she often attended her boyfriend’s work events as well as visited him at the studio, soon resulting in her even developing a good rapport with his head employer. Therefore, she stated in the aforementioned series that she didn’t find it strange when the rapper allegedly asked her to meet him to discuss her partner’s performance in the summer of 2001.
In Thalia’s complaint, she alleged Diddy and his bodyguard, Joseph “Joe” Sherman, had arrived at her parents’ home in Queens to pick her up and proceeded to offer her a glass of wine. After she’d taken a few sips, her 29-page lawsuit states, she began feeling dizzy and lost consciousness, only to wake up a short while later to find herself lying completely naked on a pool table in the record executive’s studio with her hands tied behind her back. She further alleged she was violently raped until she was going in and out of consciousness, accusing the rapper of sodomizing her and hurting her “anally and vaginally.” Amidst other accusations, Thalia alleged that Sherman “repeatedly thrust his penis into her mouth.”
Thalia Graves Was Reportedly Left Shattered Following the Alleged Incident
Thalia has since claimed that she awoke on a sofa with her dress thrown on top of her, terrifying her to such an extent she actually called a friend to come pick her up. She was subsequently rushed to the hospital, but she maintains she was so afraid and panicked over what had purportedly transpired that she couldn’t even go in to get herself checked and report the alleged assault. In the end, owing to worries over her then-boyfriend’s career as well as the custody case she was embroiled in, she chose not to report the alleged incident at all, causing her a lot of inner turmoil.
As per Thalia’s own statements on the HBO show, she didn’t leave her room at her parents’ place for two days owing to the deep anger, shame, and regret she was feeling, which ate her up further. Nevertheless, as time passed, she forced herself to get the courage to stand on her feet again for the sake of her daughter, but she knew she simply couldn’t do so in New York. So, almost as soon as all her affairs were in order, she decided to move back to Texas and eventually settled down in Frisco before establishing herself as an entrepreneur.
Thalia Graves Hopes To Attain Justice
While Thalia admittedly never forgot what she had allegedly endured, she always believed she was Diddy’s sole alleged victim, so it was a shock to her when many started accusing him of being a predator. However, as per her statements, it wasn’t until her ex-boyfriend contacted her to let her know her alleged assault had been filmed and distributed as pornography that she decided it was high time to take action. She filed her lawsuit in September 2024 with the help of renowned attorney Gloria Allred in the hopes of finally attaining the justice she believes she deserves and moving on from the past. She had no idea of the backlash she would soon face.
We specify backlash because Diddy’s ex-bodyguard, Joe Sherman, didn’t hesitate to deny all the accusations against him, stating they “are not only false but damaging to my character.” He added, “I have never met the accuser, and I was not working with Sean Combs during the time in question. I will be pursuing legal action to address this defamation and protect my name.” In the end, he ended up filing a $100 million defamation case against Thalia, which raised several eyebrows. Still, it is evident that Thalia is determined to stay on the path she is on so as to protect not just herself but also her family, which now includes her daughter and a partner, as well as her business.
Read More: Kristina Khorram: What Happened to P. Diddy’s Chief of Staff?
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