Sean 'Diddy' Combs sues for 50m for defamation
Sean 'Diddy' Combs has filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against a man who alleged he had videos of the rapper engaged in sexual assault, as well as his lawyer and a TV network.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs has filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against a man who alleged he had videos of the rapper engaged in sexual assault.
The 55-year-old rapper - who was arrested in September over charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution, and is also facing a number of civil lawsuits - is suing Courtney Burgess, as well as his attorney Ariel Mitchell and Nextstar Media Group, the parent company of TV network NewsNation after alleging they deliberately fabricated and amplified false claims about him for financial gain.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the Southern District of New York on Wednesday (22.01.25) and obtained by People magazine, accused NewsNation of having broadcast allegations without first conducting proper due dilligence and argued the actions caused economic and reputational harm to the 'I'll Be Missing You' hitmaker, as well as tainting his right to a fair trial with an impartial jury.
Diddy - who is in behind bars at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center awaiting trial - claimed in the lawsuit that Burgess had alleged he had videos of the rapper "involved in the sexual assault of celebrities and minors," and accused him and his lawyer of repeating the allegations to several news outlets, including NewsNation.
But because the star's legal team argued the alleged tapes don't exist, the pair's statements they had such footage "were either knowingly blatant falsehoods or recklessly false statements."
Burgess is said to have claimed Kim Porter - Diddy's late former partner who passed away in 2018 - gave him a copy of her memoir and videos showing the Bad Boy records founder "sexually assaulting inebriated celebrities and minors."
But Diddy's lawyers insisted he has never met Burgess, nor does the man have any association with his family.
Elsewhere, the documents noted Mitchell had filed multiple lawsuits against Diddy, including one on behalf of an adult entertainer who alleged she had been sex trafficked by him.
The lawsuit claimed: "To date, even though Mitchell has not served either of those lawsuits, she has spoken about them extensively to the media."
It went on to reference a segment that aired on NewsNation in September where the lawyer allegedly "falsely stated" recordings of Diddy in compromising positions with other stars had been leaked through Hollywood, and claimed people were unknowingly recorded in his home.
The host allegedly replied: "It sounds like there was probably a lot of hidden cameras as well."
The lawsuit noted there was "no evidentiary support" of the allegations.
It added: "NewsNation, upon information and belief, conducted no investigation before broadcasting the false allegations, though it easily could have done so."
They also claimed the network failed to contact Diddy's team for comments before airing the segment.
the lawsuit alleges, adding that the network did not reach out to Combs' representatives for comment before airing the segment.
The lawsuit accused Burgess and Mitchell of having each profited from their public allegations, with the former making money "from his fake Kim Porter memoir" and the latter "promoting herself in the media", while NewsNation has seen a boost in viewership after airing the allegations.
The documents state: "Defendants made these false and defamatory statements in bad faith, as part of a deliberate effort to damage Mr. Combs's reputation, undermine his business and, by painting him as debauched and a pedophile, to poison the public's perception of him and deprive him of a fair trial."
The rapper is suing for defamation for an amount to be determined at trial, but no less than $50 million, including punitive damages.
Mitchell branded the lawsuit "pathetic" and vowed to take action of her own.
She said: “This is just a pathetic ploy to silence victims and people who stand up for victims. Diddy has time to sue but refuses to accept service for the lawsuits already filed against him.
"I look forward to countersuing and ensuring the court punishes not only Diddy but also his lawyers who filed this pathetic lawsuit for this frivolous and meritless filing.”
