Diddy Files $50M Defamation Lawsuit Against Grand Jury Witness, Lawyer, and NewsNation

Sean "Diddy" Combs has filed a defamation lawsuit against Courtney Burgess, who claimed to be in possession of videos showing the disgraced mogul sexually assaulting celebrities and people believed to be minors.

Burgess' attorney Ariel Mitchell and Nexstar Media Inc., which operates NewsNation, were also named in the suit which was filed in New York on Wednesday, Variety reports.

"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," Combs' attorney Erica Wolff said in a statement. "These defendants have willfully fabricated and disseminated outrageous lies with reckless disregard for the truth."

According to the New York Times, Burgess claimed he received these alleged videos through a mutual acquaintance for the late Kim Porter, who shared four children with Combs and died in 2018. Burgess also claimed he was given a rough draft of Porter's memoir. Burgess was was subpoenaed for grand jury testimony in Diddy's upcoming trial.

On the same day that he testified before a federal grand jury, Burgess was interviewed on NewsNation, alongside Mitchell, where he not only reiterated his claim of possessing these videos, but alleged "two to three" of the celebrities in the footage could be underage.

Mitchell is accused of knowingly peddling Burgess' false claims and making appearances on the Peacock documentary The Making of a Bad Boy and another for NewsNation where she asserted "there already have been tapes leaking around Hollywood, being shopped around to individuals in Hollywood."

The complaint accuses NewsNation of airing these allegations without doing their due diligence.

According to the New York Times, Burgess testified before a grand jury that he disposed of the original flash drives containing the videos, but his phone and email could still have the videos. His phone has since been seized.

Combs maintains he has never met Burgess, nor has anyone in his family. The complaint states Porter's children and roommate of 20 years never heard of Burgess.

Burgess also said he has never met Combs.

"Their falsehoods have poisoned public perception and contaminated the jury pool," Wolff 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."

Combs is seeking $50 million in monetary and punitive damages, to "hold the defendants accountable for their malicious and reckless conduct," according to the lawsuit.

"I look forward to countersuing and ensuring the court punishes not only Diddy but also his lawyers who filed this pathetic lawsuit for this frivolous and meritless filing," Mitchell said in a statement to the New York Times.

Last year, Combs was arrested on racketeering and sex trafficking charges. He is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn while awaiting trial in May.