Harvey Weinstein accuser named in lawsuit, revealed to be Sean 'Diddy' Combs accuser
As two of the most fabled men in entertainment face sprawling claims of sexual misconduct, a new legal filing has revealed they have an accuser in common.
Crystal McKinney, a model who sued Sean "Diddy" Combs in May 2024 for sexual assault, has been named as the previously anonymous accuser in a February lawsuit that levies similar claims against Harvey Weinstein.
In an amended complaint, filed May 30 and reviewed by Paste BN, lawyers for McKinney allege the movie mogul assaulted her in 2003 at a meeting that had been set to discuss her shift from modeling to acting.
In a statement to Paste BN, a lawyer for Weinstein denied the accusation.
"Harvey Weinstein categorically denies the outlandish and fantastical claims made against him by Crystal McKinney in her complaint," Weinstein's lawyer Imran H. Ansari wrote in a June 2 statement. "Made late in time and suspiciously on the heels of her complaint against Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Mr. Weinstein is ready to refute and defend against the salacious claims, that are believed to have been made with an opportunistic motive."
The lawsuit, originally filed in February, alleged that Weinstein invited McKinney and her roommate at the time back to his hotel room, seemingly to discuss their careers, then plied them with alcohol, groped them and exposed himself, before pressuring them to take a bath with him and perform sex acts on one another.
Lawyers for McKinney, who used the pseudonym A.P. in the original filing, allege that Weinstein dragged her to his bed and raped her, after she had been given enough alcohol to feel "dissociated" and "as if she was having an out-of-body experience." He then raped the roommate, according to the suit. McKinney's lawyers are demanding a jury trial along with damages and alleging that as a result of the assault, McKinney attempted suicide and was hospitalized in 2004.
McKinney's accusations come on the heels of another lawsuit filed on her behalf against Combs, who is currently on trial for sex trafficking and racketeering. In a complaint from May 2024, the model accused Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 2003, the same year as the alleged Weinstein assault.
Though his team didn't previously respond to a request for comment, Combs has repeatedly denied all nonconsensual sexual encounters.
The claims against Combs echo those against Weinstein – that McKinney was a bright young ingenue whose star was on the rise and was set up with the music mogul by someone else in the industry, seemingly for career advancement.
"MeToo exposed rich and powerful men in the entertain(ment) industry who target and sexually abuse young women seeking a break. Crystal McKinney, a top model at a young age, fell victim to such predation – twice," McKinney's lawyer Michelle A. Caiola wrote in a statement to Paste BN June 2. "The facts stand on their own and our client looks forward to her day in court when she can present her evidence to a jury."
The filing alleges that after a dinner at Cipriani, Combs invited McKinney to his studio, where she was given weed that she later came to understand was laced "with a narcotic or other intoxicating substance." After being plied with more alcohol and marijuana, Combs led McKinney to a bathroom where he forced her to perform oral sex, according to the lawsuit. She later passed out and found herself in a cab home, realizing she had been assaulted, the suit alleges.
Claiming that Combs "blackballed" her in the industry after her encounter, and that her career prospects dwindled, lawyers for McKinney say she entered "a tailspin of anxiety and depression" that contributed to the same suicide attempt referenced in the Weinstein suit.
Combs, whose federal trial has captured the attention of the nation, has faced an onslaught of civil suits in the background, many levying similar claims to McKinney's of drugging and assault.
The formula, shared in both McKinney's suits, reflects an alleged pattern described by many accusers of both Combs and Weinstein using their industry power to lure in victims, then wielding that same power to keep them silent.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.