Diddy is going on the legal offensive, filing a $50 million lawsuit against grand jury witness Courtney Burgess over a series of “false and defamatory statements.”
The complaint, which also names Burgess’ lawyer Ariel Mitchell and media conglomerate Nexstar, the parent company of NewsNation, claims that the parties deliberately fabricated accusations against him and broadcast them without due diligence.
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Burgess claimed in various interviews that he was in possession of videos of Diddy committing sexual assault against other celebrities, including minors.
Burgess also stated on air that the Bad Boy boss’ late former partner, Kim Porter, provided him with a copy of her memoir and videos of him sexually assaulting celebrities and children.
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He also claimed that he had a picture of Justin Bieber kissing an “unidentified male.”
“Burgess repeated [these] false claim[s] many times to anyone who would listen, including reporters for major news outlets (including NewsNation, which recklessly repeated and amplified his lies as if they were true),” the suit reads.
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Diddy’s attorney Erica Wolff said in a statement: “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.
“These defendants have willfully fabricated and disseminated outrageous lies with reckless disregard for the truth. Their falsehoods have poisoned public perception and contaminated the jury pool.”
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She 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.”
Burgess hit back at the comments, telling The New York Times: “I’m standing by my word. He had a lot of nerve to want to sue somebody when he’s going to rot in jail for all of the things he’s done.”
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Diddy had previously attempted to have a gag order imposed on any witness who gave testimony to the grand jury in his sex trafficking and racketeering case.
The mogul and his lawyers argued that any public statements made by alleged victims and potential witnesses and their legal representation could interfere with his right to a fair trial.
This was explicitly rejected by the judge presiding over the high-profile case, Arun Subramanian.
In his ruling, Subramanian said: “Combs’s authorities don’t support a gag order applicable not only to trial participants but also to any alleged victim and their lawyer.”
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He also claimed a gag order was a “last resort” measure for the courts and Diddy’s case did not yet warrant such a ruling.
In October, TMZ spoke with Courtney Burgess and his attorney Ariel Mitchell outside of the federal courthouse in New York City, just minutes after Burgess testified in a closed session.
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Burgess allegedly had to “turn over all records, including thumb drives, hard drives, electronic storage devices, or devices containing videos and/or other files depicting Diddy.”
