Diddy’s taking legal action against Courtney Burgess over claims that Burgess has videos showing the troubled mogul sexually assaulting celebrities and alleged minors.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in New York according to Variety, also names Burgess’ lawyer Ariel Mitchell and Nexstar Media Inc. (NewsNation’s parent company).
“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is taking a stand against the malicious falsehoods that have been fabricated and amplified by individuals seeking to profit at his expense,” Diddy’s attorney Erica Wolff stated. “These defendants have willfully fabricated and disseminated outrageous lies with reckless disregard for the truth.”
The New York Times reports Burgess claimed he got these alleged videos through someone who knew Kim Porter, the mother of four of Diddy’s kids who passed in 2018. Burgess also said he had a draft of Porter’s memoir. He’s been called to testify for the grand jury in Diddy’s upcoming trial.
The same day he testified, Burgess went on NewsNation with Mitchell and doubled down on his claims about the videos, adding that “two to three” of the celebrities shown might be underage.
Mitchell is being called out for spreading Burgess’ claims and appearing in Peacock’s The Making of a Bad Boy doc and on NewsNation, where she claimed “there already have been tapes leaking around Hollywood, being shopped around to individuals in Hollywood.”
The lawsuit says NewsNation ran these claims without proper fact-checking.
The New York Times reports Burgess told the grand jury he got rid of the original flash drives with the videos, but might still have copies on his phone and email. His phone’s been taken by authorities.
Diddy says he’s never met Burgess, and neither has his family. The lawsuit notes Porter’s kids and longtime roommate don’t know who Burgess is.
Even Burgess admits he’s never met Diddy.
“Their falsehoods have poisoned public perception and contaminated the jury pool,” Wolff added. “This complaint should serve as a warning that such intentional falsehoods, which undermine Mr. Combs’s right to a fair trial, will no longer be tolerated.”
Diddy wants $50 million in damages to “hold the defendants accountable for their malicious and reckless conduct,” per the lawsuit.
Mitchell fired back to the New York Times: “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.”
This comes after Diddy’s arrest on racketeering and sex trafficking charges last year. He’s currently in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center until his May trial.
