:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/OC3Q5BM7DYD5B2PGW7PBQPWQYM.jpg)
An Irish woman has accused the son of American rapper and producer Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexually assaulting her on board a luxury yacht in December 2022.
Grace O’Marcaigh, understood to be from south Dublin, alleges that Christian “King” Combs both groped her and tried to force her to perform oral sex on him while she was working on the yacht as a steward.
Sean Combs, more commonly known by his stage name Diddy, is named as a co-defendant in the civil lawsuit, accused of aiding and abetting the alleged assault, having chartered the yacht for his family’s use in St Martin, in the Caribbean, in December 2022.
The 31-page civil lawsuit complaint was filed by attorneys for Ms O’Marcaigh at the Los Angeles County Superior Court last month.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/PT4PRJ4UAROOQO37PUCEBGAEJA.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/GK5OCWKRQVKHHPBZGYFVRBI7GA.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/DI4LR5KI35YTMWBSOL2II46DPI.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/RXGV6X37BRCRND3KXK656DI42I.png)
The lawsuit alleges that in the early hours of December 28th, 2022, Christian Combs arrived on board the yacht in a state of intoxication and, after a time, pressured Ms O’Marcaigh into taking shots of tequila in the yacht’s recording studio. The plaintiff suspected that the tequila was spiked with other drugs.
When Ms O’Marcaigh attempted to leave the studio, Mr Combs became aggressive, according to the lawsuit. He grabbed her arm “and began hurting her”, according to the court filings, pulling her down to the seat beside him and preventing her from getting up.
The situation then escalated, with Mr Combs sexually assaulting Ms O’Marcaigh, the lawsuit alleges, groping her breasts and genitals and kissing her neck, face and hands.
The lawsuit contains transcripts of the alleged assault, and photographs of what appears to be bruising on Ms O’Marcaigh’s arms following the alleged assault.
Ms O’Marcaigh further alleges that Mr Combs groped her in the yacht’s cinema in a separate incident later and tried to force her to perform oral sex on him.
Ms O’Marcaigh, who was 25 at the time of the alleged assault, alleges that she was “berated” by the yacht’s captain after reporting the incidents. The incidents were never investigated, she says.
The plaintiff’s employment on the yacht was subsequently terminated, and her long-time romantic relationship ended, according to the lawsuit.
Her mental health deteriorated on account of the incidents, and she developed a severe eating disorder, according to the filings.
The lawsuit claims that, during the period in which Sean Combs rented the yacht, a “hedonistic environment” prevailed, with patrons using drugs and sex workers being employed on board.
Ms O’Marcaigh’s attorneys in the US were contacted for comment on Wednesday.
Aaron Dyer, lawyer for both Sean and Christian Combs, was also contacted for comment.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/irishtimes/e95bb311-6ba6-4184-a44c-ad627f0f2826.png)