Diddy Accuses Diageo of Illegal Retaliation

Last month Sean 'Diddy' Combs filed a lawsuit against his former business partner, Diageo Beverages, accusing them of using discriminatory practices when marketing his liquor brands [click here if you missed that]. 

Now Diddy is accusing Diageo of illegal retaliation for cutting ties with him after he filed his lawsuit...

From The NY Post

Sean “Diddy” Combs accused his business partner Diageo of “illegal retaliation” on Wednesday, heightening the legal battle between the mogul musician and the spirits conglomerate.

Diageo, which had distributed the rapper’s Ciroc vodka and DeLeon tequila brands, moved to cut ties with Combs last month after he filed a suit accusing the company of racism in the promotion and distribution of his liquor labels.

“The message is clear — if you dare to shed light on Diageo’s conduct, you will be punished,” Combs’ lawyers said in documents filed in New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday and obtained by The Post.

Diageo, the world’s largest spirits company, has asked the court to toss the lawsuit.

However, the filing called Diageo’s motion to dismiss the case “smoke and mirrors,” and asked the court to ignore the request.

“While Diageo has self-servingly misrepresented the goals of Combs’s lawsuit in the press, its attempt to retaliate against Combs for asserting his legal rights will not work in court,” Combs’ lawyer John Hueston said.

A Diageo spokesperson told The Post: “This is a business dispute and should not be recast as anything other than that.”

The company insisted it had the contractual right “to terminate the marketing services agreement in place for Ciroc and begin the wind down of the DeLeón joint venture.”

“Our actions are consistent with our desire to protect the significant investment we have made in both brands and their future growth. Mr. Combs’ longstanding bad faith actions, false accusations and breaches of contract overwhelmingly support Diageo’s justified decision to sever ties,” the spokesperson said.