Sean “Diddy” Combs is being sued by a model who says the rapper drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2003.
In court documents obtained by Scripps News, Crystal McKinney alleges she sustained “substantial and lifetime injuries” as a result of the incident.
McKinney met Combs when she was 22 years old after being invited to attend a Men’s Fashion Week event at Cipriani Downtown in New York City in 2003.
Combs had been representing his clothing brand Sean John.
A fashion designer who invited her to the event, referred to only as “the designer” in the lawsuit, worked to ensure McKinney looked good for the occasion so that Combs would find her attractive, the lawsuit says. The designer told McKinney she would introduce her to him.
At the dinner event, Combs “made a very public display of coming on to [McKinney] in a sexually suggestive manner which continued throughout the dinner,” says the lawsuit.
Documents claim Combs continued complimenting the model’s looks throughout the night. He told her he had power in the industry and could help advance her career.
Combs gave his phone number to the model as a measure of good faith that he would keep his word, the lawsuit says. But the rapper continued to be flirtatious throughout the evening, at times “bordering leering,” according to the lawsuit. He also repeatedly kept filling her glass with wine.
Later that evening, after the event, Combs insisted McKinney visit his studio. She said felt reassured she would be in the presence of others, rather than alone with him in a personal residence.
Combs and several other men were gathered together when she arrived.
An associate of Combs asked her if she’s ever smoked weed, and when she said yes, he replied, “You’ve never had weed like this before.”
McKinney “later came to understand that Combs had laced the joint with a narcotic or other intoxicating substance,” the lawsuit states.
Combs pressured her to continue consuming alcohol and marijuana even when she said she had enough. McKinney “felt as if she was floating,” says the lawsuit.
While she was very intoxicated, Combs made her go into a bathroom with him, documents say.
In the bathroom, "Combs forced himself on [McKinney] and began kissing her without her consent. Combs then shoved her head down to his crotch before commanding her to ‘suck it,’” the lawsuit details. “[McKinney] refused, but Combs pushed her head down onto his phallus and forced her to perform oral sex on him.”
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Combs brought McKinney back into the studio after, and while feeling physically ill, she lost consciousness, the lawsuit claims. She awoke to find herself in a taxi heading back to the designer’s apartment.
“As her consciousness returned, [McKinney] realized that she had been sexually assaulted by Combs,” says the lawsuit. “[She] felt humiliated and traumatized and without recourse.”
Due to what she says unfolded, McKinney has kept her clothes from that night hung in plastic wrap in her closet since.
Following the incident, McKinney’s opportunities in the industry dwindled and she realized she had been “blackballed,” according to the documents. She suffered severe depression and anxiety, and attempted suicide in or around 2004.
She became addicted to drugs and alcohol, which she turned to as a coping mechanism.
McKinney was later married from 2006 to 2010, but says her marriage fell apart due to trauma from the assault.
To this day, McKinney continues to experience “bouts of depression, anxiety, body image issues, feelings of worthlessness, and intimacy issues because of Combs’ assault,” the lawsuit alleges.
The model is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.
The lawsuit comes just days after video emerged of Combs assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a 2016 incident. Ventura is among a number of others who have come forward with lawsuits against the rapper for abuse, sexual assault and drug allegations.
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