Sean Combs filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against a man who claims to have video evidence against him.
Combs filed the lawsuit in New York against Courtney Burgess and his attorney Ariel Mitchell on Wednesday, January 22. Burgess previously testified before a federal grand jury claiming to have evidence of alleged “freak-off” parties hosted by Combs.
During an appearance on NewsNation, Burgess claimed he had 11 flash drives that allegedly contained videos of eight celebrities, six men and two women involved in freak-offs. Burgess alleged that “two to three” of the individuals were minors.
Combs’ attorneys said Burgess and Mitchell fabricated “outrageous lies” against Combs so they could “gain social media fame, enrich themselves, and strip Mr. Combs of his reputation, livelihood and right to a fair trial.”
The lawsuit also named Nexstar Media Inc., which owns NewsNation, according to Us Weekly.
Combs said the “intentionally false and defamatory statements have also poisoned the minds” of the potential jury pool for his upcoming trial in May.
Combs is seeking no less than $50 million in punitive damages for the harm their “false and defamatory statements have caused.”
He plans to file more lawsuits against his accusers to recoup the millions he has paid to his legal team.
In a separate case, a federal judge in Michigan dismissed a $400 million lawsuit filed by a male prison inmate who accused Combs of assault.
According to court documents obtained by In Touch, the judge dismissed Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith’s lawsuit with prejudice on Wednesday, January 22.
In the original lawsuit, filed in June 2024, Cardello-Smith, 51, accused Combs, 55, of drugging and sexually assaulting him when he worked at a restaurant during a party in Detroit in 1997.
However, Combs was not properly served with the summons. So he didn’t respond in a timely manner, which led to a $100 million default judgement for Cardello-Smith.
This week, a judge ruled that the lawsuit was barred by the statute of limitations. Cardello-Smith claimed Combs assaulted him in 1997.
Cardello-Smith is currently serving 75 years in prison for multiple sexual offenses.
