Sean “Diddy” Combs has filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against NBCUniversal over the Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy documentary that aired on Peacock.
He calls the documentary “an outrageous set of fresh lies and conspiracy theories.” The lawsuit, filed in New York State court, accuses NBCU of spreading false claims for profit while he awaits trial on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
The lawsuit references multiple instances of alleged defamatory statements made about Combs as outlined by his attorney Erica Wolff.
“As described in today’s lawsuit, NBCUniversal Media, LLC, Peacock TV, LLC, and Ample LLC made a conscious decision to line their own pockets at the expense of truth, decency, and basic standards of professional journalism. Grossly exploiting the trust of their audience and racing to outdo their competition for the most salacious Diddy exposé, Defendants maliciously and recklessly broadcast outrageous lies in “Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.” In the purported documentary, Defendants accuse Mr. Combs of horrible crimes, including serial murder and sexual assault of minors – knowing that there is no evidence to support them. In making and broadcasting these falsehoods, among others, Defendants seek only 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. Mr. Combs brings this lawsuit to hold Defendants accountable for the extraordinary damage their reckless statements have caused.”
False Accusations of Serial Murder
“The Documentary falsely, recklessly, and maliciously accuses Mr. Combs of murdering Kimberly Porter, Christopher Wallace (‘Biggie’), Andre Harrell, Dwight Arrington Myers (‘Heavy D’), and attempting to murder Albert Joseph Brown aka ‘Al B. Sure.’ It shamelessly advances conspiracy theories that lack any foundation in reality, repeatedly insinuating that Mr. Combs is a serial killer because it cannot be a ‘coincidence’ that multiple people in Mr. Combs’ orbit have died.”
AL B SURE
The Documentary includes an interview with Al B. Sure, who conclusively asserts that Ms. Porter was ‘murder[ed],’ adding ‘do I have to say allegedly?’ He further falsely claims that, before her death, Ms. Porter was keeping a diary and was planning to ‘reveal all,’ but that ‘someone’—impliedly Mr. Combs—’found out that she was writing what was going on behind closed doors.'”
“Sure’s statements that Mr. Combs murdered Ms. Porter, and that he did so to prevent Ms. Porter from revealing information, are false and defamatory. Defendants Ample and NBCU knew those statements were false or published them in reckless disregard for the truth.”
Defendants NBCU and Ample knew that Al B. Sure—Ms. Porter’s ex, before she started dating Mr. Combs—was an unreliable source and that Al B. Sure has long held a grudge against Mr. Combs.”
“Al B. Sure also falsely claims that his own health problems were the result of an attempted murder perpetrated by Mr. Combs. He claims that Ms. Porter warned him ‘don’t get involved, you will get killed,’ that she was putting her ‘life in danger’ trying to save him, and that there were people – implying Mr. Combs – involved ‘in the attempted murder of Al B. Sure.’ The Documentary maliciously advances this narrative notwithstanding the fact that Al B. Sure’s medical problems were consistent with complications associated with his bariatric surgery and that there is no support whatsoever for his baseless claims. Sure’s statements that Mr. Combs attempted to murder him are false and defamatory.”
Baseless Claims by Ariel Mitchell
“Commentary by an attorney, Ariel Mitchell, who rhetorically asks, ‘who is dying from pneumonia? Seriously, pneumonia? And to die so quickly?’ Notwithstanding the coroner’s report to the contrary, Mitchell ridicules the idea that Ms. Porter died of natural causes, saying, ‘people get pneumonia every day and don’t die. That doesn’t seem like a natural cause.'”
Jaguar Wright and Conspiracy Theories
“The Documentary includes a clip from a YouTube interview with Jaguar Wright, a conspiracy theorist who skeptically points out that, of the ‘five people’ who, she says, started Uptown Records, ‘the only two people left are Puffy and Al [B. Sure], and Al almost died.'”
“The Documentary adds another [internet comment] that says: ‘It is no coincidence that all the original employees, except for Al B., are dead. Mind you after Al B spoke out against Diddy after Kim Porter’s death, he was in a coma for several months. The common denominator is Diddy!!!!'”
False Claims of Sex Trafficking
“In the Documentary, this unidentified interviewee claimed that, while he was employed by Mr. Combs, he was sent on ‘missions’ to go to clubs to ‘recruit some girls’ and ‘bring them back to the house,’ but that he didn’t know what the ‘real intention was,’ falsely implying that there was foul play involved. He further falsely claimed that Mr. Combs was ‘fucking and making love and sex’ to girls who ‘[f]or sure they were underage.'”
Rodney Jones’s Discredited Lawsuit
“The Documentary falsely implies that this unidentified document is corroboration. In fact, it is a copy of a civil complaint brought by Rodney Jones against Mr. Combs containing the same false allegations and seeking $30 million in purported damages. The Documentary does not include, however, the fact that those allegations about minors have been thoroughly discredited.”
Reckless Airing of Burgess’s Claims
“Burgess has never met Mr. Combs and has never had any relationship with anyone in Mr. Combs’s family. Nevertheless, Burgess has claimed on multiple occasions that Kimberly Porter provided him with a copy of her memoir and videos depicting Mr. Combs sexually assaulting inebriated celebrities and minors.”
The complaint argues that NBCUniversal, historically known as a trusted media entity, “grossly exploited” that reputation to push sensationalized narratives about Combs. “Defendants made a conscious decision to line their own pockets at the expense of truth, decency, and basic standards of professional journalism,” the filing states.
NBC and Peacock have not yet responded to the lawsuit.
Combs has been held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center since his September 16, 2024, arrest. After multiple failed bail attempts, he faces a possible life sentence if convicted. His attorney, Erica Wolff, slammed NBCU for “racing to outdo the competition” with what she calls a “malicious” exposé designed to fuel public scandal.
