A former bodyguard of Sean Combs filed a defamation lawsuit against a woman who in September accused him of physical and sexual assault her in 2001, NBC News reported.

Joseph Sherman called the allegations in Thalia Graves’ lawsuit “completely and utterly false,” in documents filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court. He is also suing Graves’ attorneys, including Gloria Allred. Both women spoke at a press conference to discuss the lawsuit in September. They declined to comment Monday.

graves alleged in her lawsuit that in 2001, both Combs and Sherman sexually assaulted her at the music mogul’s Manhattan recording studio after she was summoned to a meeting with Combs to discuss her then-boyfriend’s work performance at the Bad Boy records.

Combs, she said in the suit, took her into an SUV driven by Sherman and offered her a glass of wine that later left her “feeling dizzy, physically weak.”

When they arrived at the recording studio, Graves, who was 25 at the time, said he passed out and found his hands tied behind his back with “what felt like a plastic grocery bag.” says the costume. She said Sherman lifted her off a couch, slammed her onto a table and then Combs raped her, according to her filing. Sherman also slapped her several times and forced her to perform oral sex with him, Graves’ lawsuit said.

She also said in her suit that she learned last year that Combs and Sherman had recorded their alleged encounter and shown it to others, and that both men had contacted her several times over the years and they warned her to keep quiet, threatening repercussions, including that she could lose custody of her son if she ever revealed the alleged assault.

Sherman’s attorney, Darnell Crosland, said in a statement Monday that his client is among the “thousands of men who have been falsely accused” in the #MeToo movement and continue to suffer as a result.

“And these wrongfully accused men are not the only victims of false claims, in fact the thousands of women who are truly sexually assaulted are being hurt by these financially motivated claims because no one is hearing their cries,” he said. “The defendants in this lawsuit must be held accountable for their actions and must understand that a ‘cash grab’ based on false claims is hurting more people than they can imagine in more ways than they can imagine.”

Sherman is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and a jury trial.

Sherman previously told NBC News that he did not know or rape Graves, that he was employed by Combs from 1998 to 1999 — years before the alleged assault took place in 2001 — and that he never saw him again. on the 25-year-old rapper. , all of which also mention his suit. Sherman’s file also says that in 1999 he began working for another record company, a direct competitor of Combs’s, and “wasn’t even allowed into the Bad Boy Records studios or near Sean Combs after 1999,” so he could not have raped or filmed Graves.

His lawsuit says the defendant’s “negligent conduct” caused him to suffer damage to his reputation, emotional distress and financial loss, among other things.

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal trial is scheduled to begin May 5, a New York judge said Thursday.

Sherman’s lawsuit accuses Graves of seeking a payday. To support that claim, his lawsuit includes a copy of social media messages he says he received from Graves offering to drop him from her lawsuit if he would testify against Combs. Screenshots of messages do not identify the sender. Instead, it says they were sent by “Instagram User” whose account was blocked by Sherman. He said he replied that he didn’t know what the person who texted him was talking about.

“I will make sure the state does not get charges or rape charges against you,” one of the messages said, in part, according to screenshots included in Sherman’s lawsuit.

combs, 55, he was sued by over 25 people since his ex-girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, an R&B singer known as Cassie, sued him last yearaccusing him of years of physical and sexual abuse. He and Ventura arranged their suit in one day. Combs has denied any wrongdoing.

Combs’ attorneys have vehemently denied the allegations in the indictment and the allegations in all other lawsuits.

He was arrested in September and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty, has been denied bail and is being held at a federal prison in Brooklyn. His trial is scheduled to begin in May.

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