Sean 'Diddy' Combs has filed a $50 million (£41 million) defamation lawsuit against the man who claims he has sex tapes of the rapper with other celebrities.
The Last Night rapper, who is currently in prison awaiting trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, is suing Courtney Burgess and his attorney Ariel Mitchell for publicly claiming they have videos of Combs "involved in the sexual assault of celebrities and minors".
In the lawsuit, the musician insists that no such videos exist and the defendants fabricated the claims for attention and financial gain. By reiterating their claims in public interviews, they have allegedly tainted the pool of jurors for Combs' upcoming trial.
"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," said Erica Wolff, Combs' attorney, in a statement. "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. 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 appeared on true crime podcasts and the cable network NewsNation last year and he claimed in October that he testified in front of a grand jury considering additional charges against the hip-hop star. He alleged that he was given the illicit tapes by Combs' late ex-girlfriend Kim Porter.
Reacting to the lawsuit, Burgess told 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."
In addition to the criminal charges, for which he will stand trial in May, the 55-year-old faces more than 30 civil sexual assault lawsuits. He has denied the allegations.
In his new legal action, which was filed in New York on Wednesday, Combs also sued Nextstar Media Group, the parent company of NewsNation, for airing the sex tape claims without allegedly conducting due diligence.
