Crystal McKinney, a former model, has filed a lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs, accusing him of sexual assault. In a striking revelation, McKinney claims she preserved the unwashed clothes she wore on the night of the alleged attack in a sealed plastic bag for over two decades.
The lawsuit, filed this week in New York, details McKinney’s accusations against the music mogul. According to the suit, McKinney met Diddy in 2003, hoping he could help advance her modeling career. Instead, she alleges that during their encounter, she was plied with marijuana and alcohol before being forced to perform oral sex on him.
McKinney first gained attention as a model at age 17, winning MTV’s inaugural ‘Model Mission’ beauty pageant in 1998. Her early success led to an invitation to a Men’s Fashion Week event in 2003 in New York City, where she was introduced to Diddy through a person referred to in the lawsuit as “the designer.” The designer arranged for McKinney to meet Diddy, giving her a complete makeover, including new hair extensions and an eye-catching outfit.
McKinney claims she has kept this outfit—consisting of a black leather coat with a fur hood, a translucent chiffon beige v-cut shirt, a fur-lined handbag, and jewel-encrusted jeans—unwashed in a plastic bag due to the traumatic events that followed.
The lawsuit alleges that early in the evening of the assault, McKinney met Diddy at Cipriani Downtown restaurant in Manhattan, where he dined with others, including the designer. Diddy allegedly made public sexual advances towards McKinney throughout the dinner and continually refilled her glass of wine. Boasting about his influence in the fashion world, he whispered that she was “going to make it big” in her career. After dinner, Diddy instructed her to call him later, leading her to meet him at his studio in Midtown Manhattan that night.
Upon arrival, McKinney claims she found Diddy drinking and smoking weed with friends. Although she joined them initially, she eventually wanted to stop, but Diddy allegedly continued to ply her with substances. The lawsuit states that Diddy then pulled her into a back room and forced her to perform oral sex on him despite her protests, leaving her feeling “panicked and physically sick.” McKinney says she passed out at the studio and woke up in the back of a taxi heading to the designer’s apartment.
Following the incident, McKinney alleges her career “dwindled and evaporated entirely,” believing Diddy “blackballed” her, costing her career opportunities. She attempted suicide in 2004 due to the alleged incident and has been haunted by it as Diddy remained a prominent figure in music, television, and film.
McKinney’s decision to come forward is influenced by recent lawsuits filed by other women against Diddy. Emphasizing a moral obligation to speak up, she is seeking unspecified damages in her legal filing.
