Sean “Diddy” Combs has filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against his accuser Courtney Burgess, her attorney Ariel Mitchell, and Nexstar Media Group, the parent company of the television network NewsNation.
The lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of New York on Wednesday, January 22. Combs’ attorneys allege that the defendants deliberately fabricated and amplified false claims about him for financial gain, broadcasting allegations without conducting proper due diligence.
The complaint specifically asserts that these actions have caused Combs significant economic and reputational harm, while potentially tainting his right to a fair trial with an impartial jury.
Currently held in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, Combs is awaiting trial on serious charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation for the purpose of engaging in prostitution—all of which he has consistently denied.
The lawsuit first highlights Burgess’s claim that she possessed videos showing Combs “involved in the sexual assault of celebrities and minors.” Combs’ attorneys argue that because these alleged tapes do not exist, the statements made by Mitchell and Burgess were either knowingly false or recklessly misleading.
Burgess additionally claimed that Kim Porter, Combs’ late ex-partner and mother of four of his children who passed away in 2018, had provided her with a memoir and videos allegedly showing Combs “sexually assaulting inebriated celebrities and minors.”
However, Combs’ legal team firmly insists that Burgess and Combs have never met, and she has no association with Combs’ family.
Previously, Combs’ lawyer Erica Wolff described the alleged memoir as “fake,” “offensive,” and a “shameless attempt to profit from tragedy.” Combs and Porter’s four children had also challenged the memoir’s claims, leading to its removal from Amazon.
The lawsuit specifically targets Mitchell, noting her history of filing multiple lawsuits against Combs, including one on behalf of an adult entertainer who alleged sex trafficking.
Despite not officially serving these lawsuits, Mitchell has spoken extensively about them to media outlets.
A NewsNation segment from late September is referenced, where Mitchell allegedly “falsely stated” that compromising tapes of Combs featuring other celebrities had been leaked throughout Hollywood. Mitchell additionally claimed that people were being unknowingly recorded in Combs’ home.
The lawsuit alleges that NewsNation’s host seemingly validated Mitchell’s claims without any evidentiary support, responding to her allegations with a statement suggesting widespread hidden camera usage.
Combs’ attorneys argue that NewsNation conducted no investigation before broadcasting these allegations and did not seek comment from Combs’ representatives.
The filing further notes that Burgess and Mitchell made similar defamatory statements to reporters on the day Combs appeared before a grand jury in his sex crimes case, repeatedly claiming Burgess possessed videos depicting Combs sexually assaulting celebrities and minors.
Mitchell has also appeared in Peacock’s documentary “Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy,” where she described Combs as “a man who has done awful things to hundreds, maybe thousands, of people.”
The lawsuit alleges that each defendant has profited from these public allegations: Burgess through her fake memoir, Mitchell by promoting herself in media, and NewsNation by increasing viewer numbers through sensationalized content.
Combs’ legal team argues that these “false and defamatory statements” were made in bad faith, deliberately attempting to damage his reputation, undermine his business, and prejudicially paint him as “debauched and a pedophile” to poison public perception and compromise his potential trial.
Ultimately, Combs is pursuing a defamation lawsuit for an amount to be determined at trial, but not less than $50 million, including punitive damages. He is demanding a jury trial to address these allegations.