Sean “Diddy” Combs accused his business partner Diageo of “illegal retaliation” on Wednesday, escalating the legal battle between the music mogul and the spirits conglomerate.
Diageo, which distributed the rapper’s Ciroc vodka and DeLeon tequila, last month ended its relationship with Combs after it filed a lawsuit accusing the corporate of racism in promoting and distributing its alcohol brands.
“The message is obvious – in case you dare to make clear Diageo’s conduct, you might be punished,” Combs’ lawyers wrote in documents filed with the Recent York State Supreme Court on Wednesday and obtained by The Post.
Diageo, the world’s largest spirits company, has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit.
Nonetheless, the lawsuit called Diageo’s motion to dismiss the case “smoke and mirrors” and asked the court to disregard the motion.
“While Diageo has selfishly presented the objectives of Combs’ lawsuit to the press, its try and retaliate against Combs for asserting his rights won’t work in court,” said Combs’ attorney John Hueston.
![The latest on Sean](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000014194012.jpg?w=1024)
A Diageo spokesman told The Post: “This can be a business dispute and mustn’t be changed into the rest.”
The corporate insisted it had the contractual right to “terminate Ciroc’s marketing services agreement and start winding up the DeLeón three way partnership.”
“Our actions are in line with our desire to guard the numerous investments we have now made in each brands and their future growth. Mr Combs’ long-standing bad faith actions, false accusations and breaches of contract overwhelmingly support Diageo’s reasonable decision to chop ties,” the spokesperson said.
The legal battle began in May when Combs accused Diageo of “sabotaging” its DeLeón brand with shoddy packaging that “made the product look low-cost”, in response to the criticism.
![The legal dispute between Combs and Diageo began in May, when Combs claimed the company had](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000014307412.jpg?w=1024)
Combs, 53, claimed Diageo “didn’t support [DeLeón and Ciroc] as promised, repeatedly failing to offer sufficient support for production, distribution and sales,” in response to court documents.
The filing alleged that Diageo’s classification system labeled Ciroc and DeLeón as “Urban”, “African American” and “Black” brands based on “the misperception that a black entrepreneur can only appeal to others who’re of the identical color.”
Meanwhile, Diageo “invested greater than $1 billion in the acquisition and development” of George Clooney’s Casamigos tequila brand, the criticism said.
It was also noted that the corporate sold Casamigos to “consumers of all races, resulting in billions in sales” despite having “only white founders.”
While court documents don’t indicate how much money Diageo poured into Ciroc and DeLeón, it says Combs was instrumental in helping “struggling Ciroc” go “from a modest 75,000 cases in annual sales to thousands and thousands in just a couple of years.”
![Combs also said Diageo did not support its partnership with Ciroc as it was labeled as such](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000014307406.jpg?w=1024)
Nonetheless, in Diageo’s motion to dismiss Combs’ criticism, the corporate said it had poured “greater than $100 million” into the DeLeón enterprise, with Combs allegedly only contributing “$1,000 in initial capital.”
Combs’ attorney dismissed the claim, saying “Combs has fulfilled all of his obligations under the DeLeón three way partnership agreement, including financing.”
Hueston said Combs’ cope with Diageo called for the corporate to fund the three way partnership and “bear primary responsibility for ensuring sufficient production and distribution.”
Combs, in turn, “would use his global popularity and reach to market DeLeón to consumers, distributors and retailers, which represents tremendous and significant value to the DeLeón brand.”
Combs’ relationship with Diageo dates back to 2007, when the London-based company, which owns greater than 200 brands, including Guinness beer and Tanqueray gin, approached Combs about Ciroc.
Combs reportedly took home nearly $1 billion during his partnership with Diageo.