Sean Combs' former bodyguard is suing a woman who accused them both of sexual assault

A former bodyguard for Sean Combs has filed a defamation lawsuit against a woman who accused him in September of physically and sexually assaulting her in 2001.

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

Graves alleged in her lawsuit that both Combs and Sherman sexually assaulted her at the embattled music mogul's Manhattan recording studio in 2001 after she was invited to a meeting with Combs to discuss her then-boyfriend's work performance at the Bad Boy record label.

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

When they arrived at the recording studio, Graves, then 25, said she lost consciousness and woke up with her hands tied behind her “with what felt like a plastic bag,” the suit says. She said Sherman picked her up from a couch, slammed her onto a table and then Combs raped her, her court papers say. Sherman also slapped her several times and forced her to perform oral sex on him, Graves' lawsuit says.

She also said in her lawsuit that she learned last year that Combs and Sherman had recorded the alleged encounter and shown it to others, and that both men had contacted her several times over the years and warned her to remain silent, including threatening consequences She could lose custody of her son if she ever disclosed the alleged assault.

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

“And these wrongly accused men are not the only victims of false allegations. In fact, the thousands of women who are actually being sexually abused are being hurt by these financially motivated claims because no one hears their screams,” he said. “The defendants in this lawsuit must be held accountable for their actions and must understand that a 'money 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 neither knew nor raped Graves, that he was employed by Combs from 1998 to 1999 – years before the alleged assault would have occurred in 2001, and that he had not seen the rapper in 25 years everything is also stated in his complaint. Sherman's filing also states that in 1999 he began working for another record company, a direct competitor to Combs, and that he was “not even allowed to enter the Bad Boy record studios or anywhere near Sean Combs after 1999,” so he did not rape Graves could still have been recorded on video.

His lawsuit states that the defendant suffered, among other things, damage to his reputation, emotional distress and financial losses as a result of his “negligent behavior”.

Sherman's lawsuit accuses Graves of seeking a payday. To support that claim, his lawsuit includes a copy of social media messages he said he received from Graves in which he offered to remove him from their trial if he would appear as a witness against Combs. The screenshots of the messages do not reveal the sender. Instead, it says they were sent by an “Instagram user” whose account was suspended by Sherman. He said he responded that he didn't know what the person who sent him the messages was talking about.

“I will ensure that the state does not press charges or rape allegations against you,” one of the messages reads, partly according to screenshots included in Sherman’s lawsuit.

Combs, 55, has been sued by more than 25 people since his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, an R&B singer named Cassie, sued him last year, accusing him of years of physical and sexual abuse. He and Ventura resolved their dispute within a day. Combs denied any wrongdoing.

Combs' lawyers 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, extortion and solicitation for prostitution. He pleaded not guilty, was denied bail and is being held at a federal prison in Brooklyn. His trial is scheduled to begin in May.