Diddy’s former bodyguard vowed to take legal action in an effort to clear his name after being accused of raping a woman in the early 2000s.
Joseph Sherman demanded that authorities investigate Thalia Graves, the Texas woman who has named him and Combs in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in New York.
‘This is totally wrong and I’m having my attorneys file a defamation suit against this lady,’ Sherman told DailyMail.com exclusively.
In her lawsuit filed Tuesday, Graves said she was violently raped by Combs and Sherman at the Bad Boy Records studio in New York the summer of 2001 when she was 25-years old.
She alleged the disgraced mogul and Sherman lured her to the studio and gave her a drink that was ‘likely laced with a drug’ that caused her to lose consciousness.
Joseph ‘Big Joe’ Sherman said he plans to countersue Thalia Graves, a Texas woman who filed a lawsuit against him and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs claiming she was sexually assaulted by both men at Bad Boy’s New York recording studio in the summer of 2001
Thalia Graves became emotional during a press conference at her attorney Gloria Allred’s law firm in Los Angeles on Sept. 24, 2024. She claims she has suffered for years from the trauma of the alleged rape by Diddy and sexual assault by Sherman
When she woke up, Graves claimed she was bound and restrained.
‘Combs mercilessly raped her, anally and vaginally,’ the suit says. ‘Sherman forcefully slammed Plaintiff [Graves] onto a table, slapped her, and repeatedly thrust his penis into her mouth. Both men were undeterred by Plaintiff’s cries for help throughout the attack.’
Sherman, known as ‘Big Joe’, denied the allegations. He said Graves had been sending him direct messages on his social media for at least five months.
The former bodyguard said Graves initially asked him to serve as a witness against Diddy for her pending lawsuit, but her messages became more threatening when he refused her demands.
‘And I’m also filing a defamation lawsuit against everybody that she mentioned in the Instagram DMs that she sent me,’ he told DailyMail.com. ‘And I’m also calling against anybody who’s pushing this to destroy my name. Once again, I did not work for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in 2001.’
Big Joe (left) partying with rapper Cam’ron, Diddy and Huddy at the Zac Posen after party durning Olympus Fashion Week in 2005
Sherman said Graves’ lawsuit against him and his former employer, Diddy, is a ‘money grab’, and that he is being targeted as a ‘scapegoat’ for the serious criminal allegations the rapper is facing in New York federal court
However, photos showed Sherman and Diddy together at parties in 2005.
In his social media, Sherman shared photos of him partying with the biggest stars of the 1990s, including Mariah Carey, Jay Z, Bruce Willis and the late singer Aaliyah.
Graves alleged in her lawsuit that the trauma of the rape came ‘flooding back’ to her after her former boyfriend, who worked with Diddy, told her in November 2023 that the rapper and the security guard recorded the rape.
According to Graves, a group of men watched the horrific video footage while at the Bad Boy studio in New York.
Graves said she was lured into the Bad Boy Records studio in New York where she was allegedly brutally raped. She claims Combs and Sherman recorded the rape and showed the video footage to others
Attorney Gloria Allred, Graves’ attorney, said during a press conference in Los Angeles that her client has suffered from ‘flashbacks, nightmares and intrusive thoughts’ ever since the rape.
‘It has been hard for me to trust others to form healthy relationships or even feel safe in my own skin,’ Graves said in tears as she read a prepared statement on Tuesday.
She added her suffering is ‘a pain that reaches into your very core of who you are and leaves emotional scars that may never fully heal.’
Sherman founded magazine Rhymes N Dimes, a pornographic magazine that also was mentioned in Thalia Graves’ complaint
During his career in the music industry, Sherman said he was around various celebrities. He is pictured here with the late R&B star, Aaliyah
She is the eleventh person to publicly accuse Diddy of sexual assault since he was indicted on racketeering and sex trafficking charges last week.
Sherman maintains he is innocent. He told DailyMail.com he is a father of four daughters and a ‘publisher’, who makes his money through real estate.
He founded the pornographic magazine Rhymes N Dimes. His social media posts includes memories from his life alongside Diddy and other celebrities.
Sherman claims he cut ties with Diddy in 2000 and started working for the the Diplomats, a hip hop group from Harlem that was originally composed of Cam’ron, Jim Jones and Freekey Zeke.
The former body guard said he is ‘willing to take a lie detector test’ to prove he is innocent.
‘Because I’m a Black man, they’re using me as a pawn and a scapegoat for issues that I had nothing to do with whatsoever,’ Sherman said.
‘Once the public sees my side of the story and see my texts, they will see what all this lady is doing because I had nothing to do with them. I will be filing a lawsuit because, yes, this has hurt my family, it has hurt my friends.’
When asked to respond to Sherman’s claims that Graves is targeting him, Allred told DailyMail.com: ‘The complaint speaks for itself. Our client looks forward to her day in court.’