A former model, Crystal McKinney, claims she kept the unwashed clothes she wore the night music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2003. This allegation is part of a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York.
McKinney, who gained fame after winning MTV’s first “Model Mission” beauty pageant in 1998, alleges that at 22, she was invited to a Men’s Fashion Week event in New York. A person referred to as “the Designer” in the lawsuit told her that Combs could help advance her modeling career and arranged a meeting between them.
The designer had McKinney’s hair styled platinum blonde and dressed her in an outfit meant to attract Combs: a black leather coat with a fur hood, a see-through chiffon shirt, jewel-encrusted jeans, and a fur-lined handbag. McKinney kept these clothes, unwashed and wrapped in plastic, due to the traumatic events that followed.
At Cipriani Downtown, McKinney met Combs, who was publicly flirtatious throughout the evening. He praised her beauty and assured her of his influence in the fashion world, exchanging numbers with her. After dinner, he invited her to his studio on West 44th Street, where he and others were drinking and smoking marijuana. Despite initially accepting some drinks and marijuana, McKinney alleges Combs pressured her to continue.
As she became heavily intoxicated, McKinney claims Combs forcibly kissed her and coerced her into performing oral sex. She felt panicked and physically ill during the assault, later losing consciousness. She awoke in a taxi heading back to the designer’s apartment, realizing she had been sexually abused.
McKinney, whose modeling career dwindled and ended after she believes Combs “blackballed” her, attempted suicide in 2004. She is demanding a jury trial.
Combs has faced multiple lawsuits since November for rape, sexual misconduct, and other crimes, including a case filed by his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. A video released last week showed Combs attacking Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016. He issued an apology video, which Ventura’s lawyers criticized for being self-centered.
In April, federal agents raided Combs’s California and Florida homes as part of a Department of Homeland Security investigation into human trafficking. He has denied all allegations and has not been charged with any crimes.
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