LOS ANGELES (AP) — Attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday towards a person they mentioned had falsely claimed to own movies implicating the music mogul in sexual assaults on eight celebrities.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court docket in New York Metropolis, accuses Courtney Burgess and his lawyer, Ariel Mitchell, of fabricating “outrageous lies” as a part of an effort to doubtlessly revenue off of the media frenzy round Combs, who was indicted in September on intercourse trafficking expenses.
Combs additionally sued Nexstar Media, saying its cable information community, NewsNation, aired Burgess’ allegations with out trying into whether or not they had been true. The movies, the lawsuit claimed, merely do not exist.
“These defendants have willfully fabricated and disseminated outrageous lies with reckless disregard for the truth,” mentioned Erica Wolff, an legal professional for Combs. “Their falsehoods have poisoned public perception and contaminated the jury pool. 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.”
Burgess and Mitchell didn’t instantly reply to emails from The Related Press requesting remark. A telephone name to Mitchell was not answered. A spokesperson for Nexstar Media Group declined to remark.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not responsible to intercourse trafficking expenses lodged towards him after his September arrest. He has remained incarcerated, awaiting a Could 5 trial, after judges refused to grant him bail.
After Combs was arrested, Burgess started giving interviews with reporters, social media personalities and true crime podcasters through which he claimed to have been given flash drives with incriminating proof by the late actor and mannequin Kim Porter, a longtime companion of Combs and mom of 4 of his kids.
However the movies Burgess claims to own have by no means grow to be public. Some individuals near Porter advised The New York Instances for a narrative printed in November that that they had by no means heard of Burgess and doubted his claims. Burgess has acknowledged that he doesn’t know Combs personally.
Federal prosecutors haven’t publicly recognized Burgess as being concerned within the prison case.
In interviews, Burgess mentioned regulation enforcement seized the movies from his residence. Mitchell additionally advised reporters Burgess handed over the drives to the federal authorities.
The lawsuit mentioned each claims had been “completely false.”
“No such video was ever turned over to the government because no such video exists,” the lawsuit mentioned.
