Charlamagne Tha God has questioned whether Diddy suing the spirits company Diageo for “racism” was a good idea considering other factors that may have been at play in their bad business relationship.
Diddy sued the spirits company back in May and claimed it neglected his DeLeón tequila brand while throwing its full support behind George Clooney’s Casamigos.
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As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the lawsuit was filed by Combs Wine and Spirits in Manhattan’s New York State Supreme Court and alleges that Diageo poured all of its resources into backing Clooney’s Casamigos brand after acquiring the tequila in 2017 for around $1billion.
Diddy accused Diageo of racial discrimination as a result and alleged in his filing that the company marketed his DeLeón brand as an “urban” and “Black” tequila brand.
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Diageo retaliated earlier this week by dropping Diddy entirely from its brand, calling the lawsuit a “sham,” and accusing the Bad Boy Records founder of only contributing $1,000 cash to their partnership despite raking in over a billion in profits.
“I got questions man, somebody gotta help me understand,” Charlamagne said during The Breakfast Club‘s latest Rumor Report. “Diddy worked for this company for 15 years, right? Made a billion dollars, literally, but then turns around and sues the company for racism. There had to be a better basis to the lawsuit then just racism right?”
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He continued: “I just wonder, ’cause you have so much success with that company with Ciroc for 15 years and it doesn’t seem like you’ve been able to duplicate that success with DeLeón thus far, but is that a reason to burn a bridge with a company that has helped you make a billion dollars? I’m genuinely asking. These aren’t statements. These are questions.”
Check out Charlamagne’s comments in the video below:
In a statement to HipHopDX, Diddy’s attorney John C. Hueston said Diageo’s attempt to end its partnership with his client was the equivalent to “firing a whistleblower who calls out racism.”
“It’s a cynical and transparent attempt to distract from multiple allegations of discrimination. Over the years, he has repeatedly raised concerns as senior executives uttered racially insensitive comments and made biased decisions based on that point of view,” Hueston said.
“Diageo even acknowledged the problem by agreeing in his contract to treat DeLeon the same way it treated their other tequila brands. He brought the lawsuit to force them to live up to that contract, and instead they respond by trying to get rid of him. This lawsuit and Mr. Combs are not going away.”
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Diageo had denied the allegations from the beginning and said in a statement to WSJ at the time that this was nothing more than a business dispute.
“This is a business dispute, and we are saddened that Mr. Combs has chosen to recast this matter as anything other than that,” a company spokesperson said. “Our steadfast commitment to diversity within our company and the communities we serve is something we take very seriously.”
Diddy is asking for a court injunction to force Diageo to comply with their 2013 joint-venture agreement, as well as subsequent written agreements in order to resolve what Diddy claims were multiple complaints filed against the company.
The drama doesn’t stop there for Diddy. The Bad Boy mogul was recently accused of stealing his latest single “Act Bad” from an up-and-coming New York rapper.
Swinderella, a young rapper out of Queens, has alleged that Diddy “jacked” her song, and shared a clip of her 2020 track with The Neighborhood Talk to note the two singles’ similarities.
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“The industry will really send people to bite your whole entire swagg!” an affiliate of Swinderella’s wrote in a since-deleted post on Instagram screenshotted by TNHT. “You never know who watching you, they not creative enough, they’re not organic enough!”
