Sean “Diddy” Combs has sued NBC for £80.5 million because of a new program that was made about his life.
The 55-year-old artist is in a New York jail awaiting trial on a number of federal charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. He has denied all of the charges and pleaded not guilty.
His lawyers said today (12 January) that he is suing NBC, its streaming service Peacock, and the production company Ample over Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.
Diddy is seeking £80 million in damages (Prince Williams/WireImage/Getty Images)
The one-hour and 39-minute documentary that aired last month showed some parts of Diddy’s early life and included interviews with childhood friends, past coworkers, and some of the people who say they were abused by him.
The show’s synopsis said: “Featuring never-before-seen footage and stories from those who know him best, Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy sheds light on his childhood, rise to fame, and recent criminal allegations, challenging viewers to rethink everything they thought they knew about the mogul behind the music – and the mugshot.”
With a case filed in New York County’s Supreme Court on February 12, The Independent reported that Diddy was angry about the documentary. He said it was full of “fresh lies and conspiracy theories.”
The complaint says that NBC wanted to “capitalize on the public’s appetite for scandal without any regard for the truth and at the expense of Mr. Combs’s right to a fair trial” by airing Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy, which included defamatory and false statements about the “Last Night” rapper.
BBC reports that the case says the “entire premise of the documentary assumes that Mr. Combs has committed numerous heinous crimes, including serial murder, rape of minors, and sex trafficking of minors.”
The lawsuit also says that the documentary “maliciously and baselessly jumps to the conclusion that Mr. Combs is a’monster’ while featuring claims that the creators either knew were false or published without caring whether they were false or not.”
The case also says that the show “falsely, recklessly, and maliciously accuses Mr. Combs of murdering” close friends and family, including Kim Porter, the mother of three of his children, and Biggie Smalls, the rapper.
Diddy’s lawyers say that Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy has caused him “substantial reputational and financial harm.”
The father of five wants a hearing by a jury and £80.5 million ($100 million) in damages.
Through the BBC, his lawyer Erica Wolff said that NBC, Peacock, and Ample “chosen to make money at the expense of truth, decency, and basic standards of professional journalism” and “willfully and maliciously broadcast outrageous lies.”
Diddy has been sued and accused of many things. In a statement to LADbible, his representatives said, “No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won’t change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone—man, woman, adult, or child.”
This is the world we live in; anyone can sue for any reason. There is a fair and unbiased legal system in place to find the truth, and Mr. Combs is sure he will win in court.
LADbible has asked NBC, Peacock, Ample, and Diddy’s reps for their thoughts.
