Diddy strikes back with $50M defamation lawsuit

Sean “Diddy” Combs is fighting for his image.

The hip hop mogul has filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against musician Courtney Burgess, his attorney Ariel Mitchell, and Nexstar Media Inc, which is the parent company of the television network NewsNation.

In the lawsuit filed Wednesday, January 22, and obtained by Page Six, Combs alleged that Burgess “falsely claimed that he possessed videos of Mr. Combs involved in the sexual assault of celebrities and minors.”

The drama began in late 2024 when Burgess testified before a grand jury and later appeared on NewsNation, alleging he owned flash drives containing explicit videos.

Per the lawsuit, Mitchell backed up her client’s claims, even suggesting that one of the individuals in the footage was “more high-profile” than Combs. “I can verify that it exists,” she claimed.

Combs' lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, vehemently denies the allegations, calling them “baseless” and harmful. The suit alleges Burgess and Mitchell knowingly spread lies, with NewsNation amplifying the narrative, causing severe “reputational and economic injury” to the Bad Boy Records founder.

“Such intentional falsehoods…undermine Me. Combs’ right to a fair trial [and] will no longer be tolerated,” stated Combs' attorney Erica Wolff.

The complaint also accuses Mitchell of failing to verify the truth of her client’s statements, labelling her actions as “utterly reckless.”