Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ lawyers have filed a defamation lawsuit against Courtney Burgess, who claims he has videos of the music mogul sexually assaulting eight celebrities, The Associated Press reports.
In the suit, filed in New York on Wednesday, they accuse Courtney and his lawyer Ariel Mitchell of creating “outrageous lies” to profit off of the media attention surrounding Combs and the many allegations against him.
Nexstar Media was also named in the suit, as Diddy’s lawyers allege its cable news network, NewsNation, failed to fact-check before airing the allegations from Burgess, whose alleged incriminating videos, they say, are nonexistent.
“These defendants have willfully fabricated and disseminated outrageous lies with reckless disregard for the truth,” said Combs’ attorney Erica Wolff in a statement. “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.”
Diddy has been in jail since his September arrest on sex trafficking charges; he’s pleaded not guilty. Burgess has since claimed in interviews that he’s obtained flash drives that include incriminating footage of Diddy and Kim Porter, his ex and mother of four of his children.
Burgess’ videos have never gone public, and people close to Porter have said they don’t know about him or his claims. He’s claimed that the videos were taken from his home by law enforcement, while Mitchell has said Burgess gave the drives to federal government officials himself. The suit alleges both statements are “completely false” allegations.
The Associated Press reached out to Burgess and Mitchell and has yet to receive a response. A spokesperson for Nexstar Media Group declined to comment.
Combs is currently awaiting trial, which is set to begin May 5.
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