Sean “Diddy” Combs and spirits giant Diageo reached an agreement on Tuesday to settle a lawsuit over their botched tequila partnership, ending a bitter legal battle that saw the embattled hip-hop star and mogul accuse the company for racism.
Combs, who now faces multiple sexual assault lawsuits, alleged in the lawsuit that Diageo breached their agreement by failing to adequately support his DeLeón-branded tequila. In doing so, he accused Diageo of treating his product line “worse than others because he's black”.
The detailed terms of Tuesday's settlement were not disclosed, but Diageo and Combs said in a joint statement that the deal would leave the two with “no continuing business relationship,” removing Combs from any further involvement in not only DeLeón but also the popular Cîroc the company's. vodka.
“Sean Combs and Diageo have now agreed to resolve all disputes between them,” the two sides said in a joint statement. “Sir. Combs has withdrawn all of his claims against Diageo and will voluntarily dismiss his claims against Diageo with prejudice.”
The sharp settlement with Diageo came as Combs faces multiple sexual assault charges. After quickly settling a rape lawsuit filed in November by longtime romantic partner Cassie, he was then sued again three separate times by three different women for similar allegations. Didi strongly denied all these accusations and promised to clear his name in court.
Before any of these allegations came to light, Combs sued Diageo in May, claiming the company breached his partnership agreement for DeLeón. But it went much further than that, claiming that Diageo had “keyboarded” the tequila as a “Black Brand” that could only be sold to “urban” consumers, hurting its sales and leaving it behind rival Diageo brands such as Casamigos and Don Julio.
“Hiding in the language of diversity and equality is good for Diageo's business, but it is a lie,” Combs' lawyers wrote. “While Diageo may prominently include images of its Black associates in promotional materials and press releases, its words only provide the illusion of inclusion.”
Diageo responded a month later, calling the lawsuit a “bad faith, bogus action” filed by a star who had “accumulated nearly a billion dollars” from their partnership but now wanted to “extract” billions more.
“These allegations are nothing more than opportunistic attempts to garner press attention and distract the court from the fact that plaintiff's breach of contract claim is completely without merit,” the company's lawyers wrote. “Diageo categorically denies these allegations.”
Diageo requested that the case be sent to private arbitration, citing a provision in Diddy's collaboration contract that it said required such disputes to be settled out of court. The company argued that if Diddy's “inflammatory rhetoric” about racism was removed, the case was nothing more than a “garden variety” business dispute to be arbitrated. But in September, the judge overseeing the case rejected that argument, meaning the case would have gone to state court, with the trial open to the public.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/business/legal/diddy-racism-lawsuit-diageo-tequila-partnership-settled-1235581888/
