Diddy $100M Lawsuit Against NBCUniversal Dismissed By Federal Judge

Diddy sued over the documentary "Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy."

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ $100 million defamation lawsuit against NBCUniversal was dismissed earlier this week by a federal judge.

Diddy had filed the lawsuit against NBCUniversal, Peacock TV, and Ample LLC. over the documentary Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy, which was released on Jan. 2, 2025.

“It is inconceivable as to how the Documentary created additional damage to [Diddy’s] reputation, which was already tarnished by the numerous lawsuits, domestic violence video, press coverage, and a criminal indictment prior to the Documentary’s publication,” Judge Phaedra F. Perry-Bond said in her ruling, per All HipHop.

She explained that NBCUniversal did not act with gross irresponsibility, the legal standard required by Diddy’s suit.

“The Documentary demonstrates a carefully curated and nuanced approach which discloses interviewees’ biases and includes counterstatements to the allegedly defamatory statements, including statements from Plaintiff and his attorneys. The Documentary provides viewers with numerous viewpoints, coupled with objective information, from which the viewer may draw their own conclusions on numerous topics discussed.”

The ruling also said that the convicted entertainment mogul already had a bad reputation before the documentary’s release, citing the libel-proof plaintiff doctrine. She mentioned the publicly shared hotel surveillance video that revealed his assault of former girlfriend/recording artist Cassie, as well as his federal criminal indictment and the number of civil lawsuits filed against him.

The judge also cited Combs’ own statement, in which he described his actions as “disgusting, shameful, and sick.”

When the lawsuit was filed in February, Diddy’s attorneys said the documentary portrayed him in such a negative light and that NBCUniversal acted “maliciously and recklessly” when the documentary made claims that he participated in “serial murder” and “sexual assault of minors” without a “shred of evidence.”

NBCUniversal argued that Combs had already acknowledged damage to his reputation, citing his statement that he ‘lost [his] freedom…career…[and] reputation.”

Diddy is serving a 50-month prison term after being convicted on two counts of transporting individuals to engage in prostitution under the Mann Act in July.