Former bodyguard said he was falsely accused of raping woman with Diddy – NBC New York

A former celebrity bodyguard accused of raping a woman with Sean “Diddy” Combs more than two decades ago claims he is being falsely accused and unfairly linked to the controversial entertainment star facing sex trafficking charges.

Joe Sherman, known as Big Joe, said although he doesn't doubt the alleged victim's claim, part of it is wrong.

“That’s a lie to me,” he told NBC New York. “I don’t know this lady from anywhere.”

The woman he was referring to is Thalia Graves, who appeared at a high-profile press conference on September 24 with attorney Gloria Allred. At the time, her attorney announced a federal lawsuit alleging that Graves, then 25, was drugged, tied up and brutally raped at Bad Boy Entertainment's Manhattan headquarters in 2001 by the music mogul and his head of security, Sherman.

“I don’t question their integrity. I'm just questioning their claims against me,” Sherman told News 4. “They got the wrong man. I wasn't even in the same room with you. I've never seen you before. That was me.’ As I recall, it wasn’t even in New York at the time.

Sherman said he worked security for Bad Boy Records in the 1990s but stopped working for the company in 2001. The former bodyguard has a personal album filled with photos of celebrity clients he has protected over the years, he told NBC New York and said he would see Diddy at industry parties after he left the company.

However, he states that there was no relationship with Diddy and claims that he is being accused of false accusations.

“She and whoever she was in cahoots with staged a money grab. And she wanted me to be part of this money heist… She wanted to get Diddy,” he said.

Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing a wave of new lawsuits after a Houston attorney said he represents more than 100 people who claim they were sexually abused by the rapper over the past two decades. NBC New York's Erica Byfield reports.

Sherman provided texts from an Instagram account starting in November 2023 that he says connected his team to Graves; NBC New York also confirmed the connection. The first text asked whether Sherman was actually a security guard for Combs.

“She says, 'Are you Big Joe?' I said, 'You're on my Instagram,'” Sherman told News 4. When she asked him his name, it showed him “that she doesn't know who I am.”

The text message asked him to call a number and continued: “If you are my witness against Diddy, my lawyers will exclude you from any trial because we have testimony that you physically sent videos of me and more than eight people.” “To the people in the studio.”

Sherman replied, “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about [or] know who the fuck you are.”

Sherman was still named in the lawsuit but said there was “never any video, I never saw this woman.”

“I’m nothing more than a scapegoat for this nonsense because I wouldn’t lie to Puffy – Sean Combs,” he added.

When Allred reached out to NBC New York for comment on the texts and Sherman's denial of his involvement, he said in an email: “The complaint speaks for itself. Our client looks forward to her day in court.”

Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested on charges of racketeering, conspiracy, promoting prostitution and sex trafficking.

The lawsuit describes Sherman as being involved in a company that produces and distributes pornography. Sherman said his media outlets publish urban rap magazines that often feature scantily clad women, arguing the photos were similar to those he posted on social media.

“I don’t show naked women,” he clarified.

“I'm single, I'm a man, but I've never disrespected or seen this woman in my life,” Sherman said. “Come on, it’s a money grab. She knows what she did to me, destroyed my family, destroyed my livelihood – I can’t get a job.”

Sherman's legal team said they are planning their legal strategy and that a countersuit will likely be filed in a few days, which will likely include defamation allegations.