‘Burn the House Down’: Diageo Countersues Diddy, Alleging $100 Million Extortion of COVID Recovery Funds
Sean “Diddy” Combs poses in the press room at the MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Diageo has countersued Sean “Diddy” Combs, accusing the rapper of “weaponizing public accusations of racism” in an attempt to extort millions in COVID recovery funds. The move represents the latest in a long-unwinding saga between one of the world’s largest spirits firms and the billionaire music mogul.
The countersuit comes nearly a month after the Supreme Court of New York denied Diageo’s motion to dismiss Combs’ lawsuit accusing the company of mismanagement and racial discrimination.
The countersuit states: “In May 2021, following Diageo’s public commitment of US$100m to help with Covid recovery for the hospitality sector and underprivileged communities, Mr Combs demanded that Diageo pay him US$100m and threatened then to ‘reach out to every news outlet’ to ‘burn the house down’ and cause maximum damage to Diageo and the DeLeón brand, by making public accusations [of] racism if Diageo refused to write the check.”
Combs — co-owner of Cîroc Vodka and DeLeón Tequila alongside Diageo — first sued the company in May.
At the time, Combs claimed that Diageo neglected his spirits after deciding that they were “Black brands” that should be targeted only to “urban” consumers. Unsealed documents allege that Diageo neglected agave supply, discontinued popular half-bottles and at one point proposed a watermelon-flavored tequila that Combs believed was racially coded.
Diageo subsequently cut ties with the rapper, though Combs has since clarified that he is still a co-owner of Cîroc and DeLeón; the suit, if successful, would compel the company to honor the terms of their initial 2013 joint-venture agreement.
On Friday, Combs’ lawyers denied the newly surfaced accusations of extortion, claiming that valid concerns over race and diversity have been brushed off “as threats and demands for money.”
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