Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sued by Model Who Alleges He Drugged, Sexually Assaulted Her in 2003

Crystal McKinney claims the Bad Boy CEO told her she "was going to make it big one day" as a model before allegedly drugging and assaulting her

Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the Pre-GRAMMY Gala and GRAMMY Salute to Industry Icons Honoring Sean "Diddy" Combs at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 25, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California.
Sean "Diddy" Combs in Beverly Hills in January 2020. Photo:

Steve Granitz/WireImage

  • A fifth accuser has come forward against Sean 'Diddy' Combs
  • Crystal McKinney was 22 and working as a model when she alleges the rapper drugged and sexually assaulted her
  • Reps for Combs did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in a new lawsuit filed in New York. 

In court documents obtained by PEOPLE on Tuesday, May 21, Crystal McKinney alleges that she was 22 years old when she was introduced to the mogul, now 54, by a designer while working as a model back in 2003. 

In the lawsuit, McKinney claims that after meeting with Combs and the unnamed designer at Cipriani Downtown, that she “felt little control over the events as she was directed what to do and put on display, for the others in attendance.”

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Sean "Diddy" Combs in Washington DC in October 2023.

Shareif Ziyadat/Getty 

McKinney claimed that she was instructed to sit “directly across from Combs” at the event and that he “made a very public display of coming on to [her] in a sexually suggestive manner which continued throughout the dinner.”

She added the Bad Boy CEO continuously complimented her “beauty” and told her she “was going to make it big one day” as a model. She claims he told her that “he had power in the industry and was going to help her advance her career” before they exchanged phone numbers.

In the lawsuit, McKinney described Combs as “flirtatious” during the course of the evening and alleges that he “plied Plaintiff with alcohol throughout the dinner as he repeatedly refilled her glass with wine.”

Later that night at Combs' studio, the model says she was offered weed, and alleges she "later came to understand that Combs had laced the joint with a narcotic or other intoxicating substance,” per the lawsuit.

She claims she declined to smoke or drink after feeling as though she was “floating,” but Combs called her “uptight” and continued pressuring her to do so. 

Sean "Diddy" Combs attends TimesTalks Presents: An Evening with Sean "Diddy" Combs at The New School on September 20, 2017 in New York City.
Sean "Diddy" Combs in New York City in September 2017.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty

The lawsuit alleges that Combs then led McKinney to a bathroom where he began forcing himself upon her and kissing her without her consent. He then allegedly shoved her head down to his crotch and forced her to perform oral sex on him. She claimed that once the act was over, Combs went back into the studio. McKinney says she began feeling “physically sick" and “lost consciousness.”

McKinney also claims Combs “blackballed” her career, and around 2004 she was hospitalized for a suicide attempt after “she began to blame herself for the assault and for sabotaging her own career.”

“Due to the traumatic events to occur later, Plaintiff (McKinney) saved the unwashed clothing from that night in her closet where they remain in a plastic wrap,” the lawsuit says. 

The amount she is seeking in damages is unspecified.

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Reps for Combs did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. McKinney's lawyers declined to comment.

Tuesday’s lawsuit comes less than a week after CNN released footage of Combs kicking, punching and dragging his former girlfriend and former Bad Boy artist Casandra “Cassie” Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.  The incident was captured on the hotel’s surveillance cameras.

In addition to Ventura and McKinney, Diddy faces sexual assault/harassment lawsuits from three other women and one man.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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