Former MTV Model Alleges Sexual Assault by Sean 'Diddy' Combs in Recent Lawsuit
Allegations of sexual assault have surfaced as Crystal McKinney, a former MTV model, files a lawsuit against Sean 'Diddy' Combs for an incident dating back to 2003 in New York City.
Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing allegations of sexual assault in a recent lawsuit filed by Crystal McKinney, a former model and winner of MTV’s 1998 Model Mission competition show.
The complaint, filed in New York and reported by CNN, states that McKinney accuses Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 2003 after a Men’s Fashion Week event in New York City.
McKinney, who was 22 years old at the time, met Combs at a dinner where he made sexually suggestive advances towards her and asked her to call him later. She felt confused but hopeful that Combs would help her career, so she accepted his invitation to his recording studio that same night.
At the studio, Combs offered McKinney marijuana that she believes was laced with a narcotic or some other intoxicating substance. According to the complaint, McKinney became very intoxicated and Combs physically led her to the bathroom.
In the bathroom, Combs kissed her without her consent and then forced her to perform oral sex on him, as stated in the complaint.
Following the assault, McKinney said she started feeling dizzy and eventually passed out. She later woke up in a taxi on her way back to the designer's apartment where she was working. As she regained consciousness, she realized that she had been sexually assaulted by Combs, according to the complaint.
CNN has contacted Combs and McKinney's representatives for a comment, along with representatives from Bad Boy Records, Sean John Clothing LLC, and Universal Music Group Inc., who were also named as defendants.
McKinney has filed a lawsuit against the defendants for violating the New York Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law.
The New York City Council has passed a law that allows survivors of gender-motivated acts of violence more time to pursue civil actions by extending the statute of limitations. This law also covers acts committed by individuals who direct, enable, participate in, or conspire in a gender-motivated act of violence.
In 1998, McKinney won MTV's Model Mission competition and received a modeling contract with IMG. She gained recognition by appearing on several MTV shows and modeling for designer Tommy Hilfiger in a fashion campaign.
McKinney suffered from severe depression and turned to alcohol and drugs to cope with the incident. As a result, she continues to face mental health challenges related to the assault and has given up on pursuing a career in modeling.
She is now seeking both punitive and compensatory damages, the specific amount of which is not disclosed.
Combs is facing another lawsuit following the release of exclusive surveillance footage by CNN. The footage revealed Combs physically attacking his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura back in 2016.
Ventura first mentioned the attack in a lawsuit filed in November 2023 against the rap mogul, whom she had dated on and off from 2007 to 2018.
The complaint, which was settled the day after being filed, detailed Ventura's allegations that Combs had raped her in 2018 and had subjected her to years of ongoing physical and other abuses during their relationship.
Following the settlement, an attorney for Combs said the “decision to settle a lawsuit…is in no way an admission of wrongdoing.”
Combs apologized on Sunday for his actions in the video.
Ventura’s attorney, Meredith Firetog, criticized his response, stating that when Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday.
This is the seventh lawsuit in which Combs has been named in recent months. Six of those lawsuits, including the one filed Tuesday, contain allegations of sexual assault. One of the six suits names Combs as a defendant but was brought against Combs’ son, Christian Combs. Only Ventura’s lawsuit has been settled.
Authorities conducted searches at Diddy's residences on March 25, 2024. This was part of a federal investigation led by a Department of Homeland Security team specializing in human trafficking crimes, as disclosed by a senior federal law enforcement official familiar with the case.
The investigation was prompted by similar allegations of sexual assault mentioned in various civil lawsuits, according to a second law enforcement source who was knowledgeable about the search operations.
CNN’s Sandra Gonzalez contributed to this report.
