Diddy files $50M defamation lawsuit against accuser who said he had sex tapes

Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ ineligible squad filed a $50-million defamation suit Wednesday against a antheral they said had falsely claimed to person videos implicating the 55-year-old shaper successful intersexual assaults connected 8 celebrities.

The lawsuit, filed successful national tribunal successful New York City, accuses Courtney Burgess and his lawyer, Ariel Mitchell, of fabricating “outrageous lies” arsenic portion of an effort to perchance nett disconnected of the media frenzy astir Combs, who was indicted successful September connected sex-trafficking charges.

Combs is besides suing Nextstar Media Group, the genitor institution of tv web NewsNation, for airing Burgess’ allegations without conducting due owed diligence.

“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is taking a basal against the malicious falsehoods that person been fabricated and amplified by individuals seeking to nett astatine his expense,” Erica Wolff, a lawyer for Combs, said successful a statement.

“These defendants person willfully fabricated and disseminated outrageous lies with reckless disregard for the truth,” Wolff continued. “Their falsehoods person poisoned nationalist cognition and contaminated the assemblage pool. This ailment should service arsenic a informing that specified intentional falsehoods, which undermine Mr. Combs’s close to a just trial, volition nary longer beryllium tolerated.”

Combs is presently successful Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center and has pleaded not guilty to sex-trafficking charges lodged against him aft his apprehension successful September. He has remained incarcerated, awaiting a May 5 trial, aft judges refused to assistance him bail. He has denied each allegations.

The suit alleges that Burgess began giving interviews with reporters, societal media personalities and existent transgression podcasters aft Combs’ arrest, claiming helium had illicit videos of Combs “involved successful the intersexual battle of celebrities and minors.”

Burgess claimed to person been fixed flash drives with incriminating grounds by the precocious histrion and exemplary Kim Porter, a longtime spouse of Combs and parent of 4 of his children. Burgess and Mitchell allegedly repeated the allegations to quality outlets, including NewsNation, according to the suit.

The suit references a NewsNation conception that aired successful October 2024 with Burgess and Mitchell. Burgess repeated his erstwhile claims successful the interview, portion claiming that the NewsNation big knew the 8 celebrities who appeared connected 8 antithetic videos.

The suit alleges that the NewsNation big knew this accusation was mendacious “or, astatine a minimum, recklessly disregarded whether the statements were existent oregon mendacious due to the fact that she had ne'er seen specified videos (because they bash not exist).”

An Oct. 24 Attwood Unleashed podcast quality with Burgess is besides mentioned successful the suit. During his appearance, Burgess claims that Porter approached him done a mediator to supply him with materials and says that she besides referred to Combs arsenic “Lucifer.”

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Burgess besides publically claimed that Porter gave him a transcript of her memoir and began selling it connected Amazon. The memoir was removed from the website aft it was denounced by Porter’s family.

Combs’ lawyers assertion that Burgess has ne'er met Combs and does not cognize immoderate subordinate of his family. Some people adjacent to Porter told The New York Times for a communicative published successful November that they had ne'er heard of Burgess and doubted his claims. Burgess aboriginal acknowledged that helium doesn’t cognize Combs personally.

“Defendants made these mendacious and defamatory statements successful atrocious faith, arsenic portion of a deliberate effort to harm Mr. Combs’s reputation, undermine his concern and, by coating him arsenic debauched and a pedophile, to poison the public’s cognition of him and deprive him of a just trial,” Combs’ ineligible squad said.

Combs is suing for defamation for an magnitude to beryllium determined by trial, but asking for nary little than $50 cardinal and demanding a assemblage trial.

In a statement to People, Mitchell called the suit “a pathetic ploy to soundlessness victims and radical who basal up for victims.”

“Diddy has clip to writer but refuses to judge work for the lawsuits already filed against him,” Mitchell said. “I look guardant to countersuing and ensuring the tribunal punishes not lone Diddy but besides his lawyers who filed this pathetic suit for this frivolous and meritless filing.”

NewsNation has not responded to the suit arsenic of this writing.

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— With files from The Associated Press