A prominent former bodyguard, Joseph “Big Joe” Sherman, claims he was wrongly accused of raping a woman with Sean “Diddy” Combs more than 20 years ago.
Sherman emphasized that although he acknowledged the victim’s experience, her accusations against him were false in a recent interview with ‘NBC New York’.
“That is a lie to me,” he said in the meeting published on Tuesday, October 1. “I don’t know this woman from anywhere.”
The accuser, Thalia Graves, appeared at a news conference in late September with attorney Gloria Allred, where a federal lawsuit was filed. Graves claimed that in 2001, she was drugged, tied up, and sexually assaulted by Combs and Sherman at the Bad Boy Entertainment offices in Manhattan.
However, Sherman disputes this, asserting that he was not involved and was not even in New York at the time of the incident.
Sherman admitted that he worked for Bad Boy Records in the 1990s but was no longer with the company in 2001. Despite occasionally hanging out with Diddy, 54, at industry events, Sherman insisted emphasized that he has no personal relationship with the music mogul.
“She and whoever was in cahoots with her were setting up a cash grab. And she wanted me to be a part of that cash grab… She wanted to get Diddy,” he added.
Sherman shared text messages from an Instagram account he believed was connected to Graves, asking him to testify against Diddy in exchange for being thrown out of the proceedings.
In response, Sherman firmly denied knowing her and expressed disbelief in the allegations.
Although he denies it, Sherman is still named in the lawsuit.
“I am nothing but a scapegoat for this BS because I will not lie to Puffy – Sean Combs,” Sherman continued. His legal team is preparing to file a counterclaim, which will likely include defamation allegations.
Sherman also addressed allegations that he was involved in the distribution of pornography, saying that although his media outlets featured scantily clad women, he did not produce or distribute nude content.
He emphasized that the accusations have deeply affected his life and family, and he is determined to fight them.
“You’ve got the wrong guy,” Sherman said. “I’m not even in the same room as you. I’ve never seen you.”
Originally published in Enstarz.
Tags Diddy, Lawsuit