Diageo
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The dispute between Diddy and Diageo is now over as the two parties have reached a settlement, and are no longer partners.
According to reports, Diddy and global liquor giant Diageo ended a highly combative legal battle in which Diddy accused Diageo of not honoring its commitment to his liquor brand, claiming it was due to racism. The two parties confirmed the settlement in a joint statement issued on Tuesday (January 16). The liquor brands at the heart of the settlement were Ciroc vodka and DeLeon tequila.
“Sean Combs and Diageo have now agreed to resolve all disputes between them. Mr. Combs has withdrawn all of his allegations about Diageo and will voluntarily dismiss his lawsuits against Diageo with prejudice,” the statement from both parties reads. “Diageo and Mr. Combs have no ongoing business relationship, either with respect to Cîroc vodka or DeLeón tequila, which Diageo now solely owns.” Diageo, which also owns such renowned brands as Guinness, Tanqueray and Johnnie Walker, had first entered into a partnership with Diddy’s Combs Wines and Spirits in 2007 to handle marketing and distribution of Ciroc. In 2013, the two entities purchased DeLeón.
Things soured in May 2023 as Diddy sued Diageo in Manhattan Supreme Court in New York City, alleging that the brand purposely neglected his liquor brands compared to others under their umbrella. He also claimed that Diageo belittled the value of Ciroc and DeLeón by marketing them as “urban” brands and not for the general market. Diageo would file a countersuit in June, claiming that Diddy had failed to live up to obligations stipulated in their partnership agreement. “Mr. Combs’ bad-faith actions have clearly breached his contracts and left us no choice but to move to dismiss his baseless complaint and end our business relationship,” their filing read at the time.
The severing of ties with Diageo is another blow to the artist and mogul within the past few months. Diddy is currently facing several lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault which he denies inflicting. Last November, his former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura filed a lawsuit against him accusing him of sex trafficking and rape. The two settled the lawsuit the next day. Diddy has also stepped down from his position as chairman of REVOLT TV and has seen an upcoming reality series with Hulu scrapped in the wake of the lawsuits.
Sean “Diddy” Combs and alcohol giant Diageo reached a settlement Tuesday to resolve a lawsuit over their soured tequila partnership, ending a bitter legal battle that saw the embattled hip-hop star and mogul accuse the company of racism.
Combs, who is now facing multiple sexual assault lawsuits, claimed in the lawsuit that Diageo had breached their agreement by failing to adequately support his DeLeón brand of tequila. In doing so, he accused Diageo of treating his product line “worse than others because he is Black.”
The detailed terms of Tuesday’s settlement were not disclosed, but Diageo and Combs said in a joint statement that the agreement would leave the two with “no ongoing business relationship,” removing Combs from any further involvement in not just DeLeón but also the company’s popular Cîroc vodka.
“Sean Combs and Diageo have now agreed to resolve all disputes between them,” the two sides said in a joint statement. “Mr. Combs has withdrawn all of his allegations about Diageo and will voluntarily dismiss his lawsuits against Diageo with prejudice.”
The abrupt settlement with Diageo came as Combs is facing multiple accusations of sexual assault. After he quickly settled a rape lawsuit filed in November by longtime romantic partner Cassie, he was then quickly sued again by three different times by three different women over similar allegations. Diddy has strongly denied all such accusations and vowed to clear his name in court.
Before any of those allegations came to light, Combs sued Diageo in May, claiming the company breached his partnership deal for DeLeón. But he also went a lot further than that, claiming Diageo had “typecast” the tequila as a “Black brand” that could only be sold to “urban” consumers, harming its sales and leaving it lagging behind competing Diageo brands like Casamigos and Don Julio.
“Cloaking itself in the language of diversity and equality is good for Diageo’s business, but it is a lie,” Combs’ lawyers wrote. “While Diageo may conspicuously include images of its Black partners in advertising materials and press releases, its words only provide the illusion of inclusion.”
Diageo responded a month later, calling the lawsuit a “bad faith, sham action” filed by a star who had “amassed nearly one 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 entirely without merit,” the company’s attorneys wrote. “Diageo categorically denies these accusations.”
Diageo demanded that the case be sent to private arbitration, citing a provision in Diddy’s partnership contract that they said required such disputes be handled 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 that must be arbitrated. But in September, the judge overseeing the case rejected that argument, meaning the case would have moved forward in state court, with the trial open to the public.
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Diageo, one of the world leaders in the adult beverages space, found itself locked into a legal battle with Sean “Diddy” Combs regarding business dealings connected to vodka and tequila brands. According to a new report, activity connected to the lawsuit filed by Combs will be moved to next year as both sides continue to state their respective claims.
As seen on Digital Music News, Diageo, which owns popular brands Johnnie Walker, Guinness, and Casamigos, was granted a stay this past Tuesday (November 14) by a panel of judges overseeing the matter. In his lawsuit, Diddy is alleging that the beverage company gave less attention to his Cîroc Vodka and DeLeón Tequila brands because of his race.
According to Combs’ legal team, their side believes the granted stay is a tactic to delay facing up to the allegations in a court of law.
“Once the appellate court considers the actual merits, we are confident that they will reach the same conclusion as two separate judges already: that Diageo can’t avoid a public trial,” Diddy’s attorney, John Hurston, said in a statement.
The lawsuit was first enacted in May of this year with Combs stating that Diageo did not commit to its plans for diversity and inclusion and putting the brands that he helmed on the back burner because he’s Black.
In response to Combs’ claims, a spokesperson for the company wrote, “This is a business dispute, and we are saddened that Mr. Combs has chosen to recast this matter as anything other than that. Our steadfast commitment to diversity within our company and the communities we serve is something we take very seriously. We categorically deny the allegations that have been made and will vigorously defend ourselves in the appropriate forum.”
The company severed ties with Combs after filing its own countersuit which Diddy hit back with again with another lawsuit alleging that the countersuit from Diageo was “illegal retaliation.”
Combs owns and operates Combs Global, which oversees the mogul’s business interests including his wine and spirits portfolio.
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Sean “Diddy” Combs just scored a significant win in his case against alcohol giant Diageo after a judge denied two crucial motions filed by the liquor maker, according to court documents filed Thursday.
Combs himself was present in court for the ruling, during which New York state judge Joel M. Cohen rejected Diageo’s motions for the case to be dismissed or, alternatively, sent to private arbitration. The case will now move forward in state court, with the trial open to the public.
The lawsuit, brought by Combs in May, claims Diageo breached its partnership deal with the artist and entrepreneur for its DeLeón Tequila by failing to properly support the brand, thereby harming its sales. Combs’ lawsuit also leveled accusations of racism against the alcohol company, accusing it of treating his product line “worse than others because he is Black.”
In June, Diageo fired back by calling Combs’ racism accusations “false and reckless” and part of an effort to “extract additional billions” from the company while concurrently filing motions for dismissal or arbitration. At the same time, a spokeswoman for Diageo noted the company had permanently severed its business relationship with Combs, claiming the rapper had “repeatedly undermined our partnerships and threatened to publicly defame Diageo if we did not meet his unreasonable financial demands.” The company additionally painted Combs as “an unreliable and untrustworthy business partner” who failed in his obligations to support DeLeón.
In asking Cohen to keep the case out of court, the company argued that the “garden variety” business dispute should have been decided under a binding arbitration agreement previously signed by both parties. But the judge clearly disagreed, striking down Diageo’s motions after hearing oral arguments from attorneys on both sides of the case for more than 90 minutes on Thursday.
“This case has always been about getting fair and equal treatment,” said Combs’ lawyer John Hueston in a statement. “Today’s decision is an important step in the right direction. Diageo tried to end this action. Today the judge soundly rejected that effort.”
Combs added, “I’m fighting for fair and equal treatment for everyone. This isn’t just about me. I look forward to continuing this fight in court. We all deserve the same 24 hours.”
A spokesperson for Diageo sent the following statement: “While we are disappointed with yesterday’s procedural decision, it is important to underscore that this is not a ruling on the merits of the claims, which we maintain are false and baseless. We are currently considering all legal options.”
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A judge has ordered previously confidential details of Diddy’s lawsuit against Diageo to be unsealed, revealing startling allegations.
On Wednesday (July 5th), Judge Joel Cohen ordered the confidential elements of the mogul’s lawsuit filed in May to be unsealed for public viewing, declaring that Diageo can only keep specific parts off-limits. This followed a ruling last Friday (June 30th). The lawsuit by Diddy demands that the global brand, which oversees over 200 beer and liquor companies including Guinness, treat his DeLeon tequila brand “at least as favorably” as others under its umbrella per their 2013 agreement.
The details that have been revealed show some startling allegations. These details included Diageo apparently presenting Diddy with a watermelon-flavored version of his tequila despite his objections and attempts to educate the company on the ills of such a move. Another complaint made by Diddy, aka Sean Combs, says that Diageo informed him that all of their agave plant production would be directed towards the company’s other tequila brands in 2021, forcing DeLeon to hurriedly hunt for suppliers in a tight market.
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Combs has also stated that since Diageo’s purchase of competing tequila brands Don Julio and Casamigos in 2014 and 2017, the company insisted on positioning the DeLeon brand as an “urban” brand and paid little attention to its marketing. The suit points to a statistic that as of last year, DeLeon was marketed in 3% of potential areas as opposed to Don Julio being marketed in 36% of potential areas. In addition, the brand has been listed as “out of stock” in major markets at least ten times over the last year.
In response, Diageo released a statement. “His attempt to recast follow-up discussions regarding innovations for DeLeon is, as is his entire suit, disingenuous and self-serving,” it said. They also claimed that Diddy was highly supportive of their actions in the past, pointing to his backing of the production of Ciroc Summer Watermelon. Diageo is now in the process of terminating its partnership with Ciroc Vodka and Combs, which first began in 2007.
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Rapper, producer and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs is asking the New York Supreme Court to enforce a 2021 agreement that requires spirits seller Diageo to treat his DeLeon tequila brand “at least as favorably” as its other tequila brands.
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Combs signed an agreement with Diageo — which owns more than 200 brands including Guinness beer and Tanqueray gin — after what he says were years of neglect for DeLeon, a brand he established with the London company in 2013.
Combs’ lawsuit against Diageo was filed in May. But many details, including the 2021 agreement, were redacted at the time. On Wednesday, those details were released after Judge Joel Cohen ruled that Diageo could keep only limited portions confidential.
Combs says Diageo’s treatment of DeLeon worsened after it bought two competing tequila brands: Don Julio in 2014 and Casamigos in 2017. Combs, who is Black, says Diageo positioned his tequila as an inferior “urban” brand and limited its distribution.
Diageo has denied Combs’ accusations. In late June, it asked the court to compel arbitration or dismiss the suit. It has also in the process of terminating a partnership between Combs and Ciroc vodka, a brand he had promoted since 2007.
The newly public documents detail what Combs says was Diageo’s repeated disinvestment in DeLeon. As of last year, DeLeon was distributed in 3% of possible outlets, for example, while Don Julio was in 36%. DeLeon has been listed as “out of stock” in major markets at least ten times in the past year, the lawsuit says.
In 2021, Combs said he was informed that all of Diageo’s agave plants were allocated to other brands, forcing DeLeon to scramble to find suppliers in the more expensive spot market. Combs says Diageo also made unilateral decisions that harmed the brand, including discontinuing popular 375-millileter “half bottles” and launching a redesigned bottle with no marketing support.
Combs claims Diageo’s decisions were often tinged with racism. He says he was adamant that DeLeon not offer flavored versions until customers had more time to learn about the brand. But Diageo went ahead and developed a watermelon flavor, even though Combs had previously warned the company to be careful about the racist history and negative connotations with watermelon in brands aimed at Black consumers.
Combs says internal Diageo documents also proposed downplaying Ciroc’s connection to Combs with the goal of rolling back its “image of being an African-American brand.”
In its own court filings, Diageo accuses Combs of resorting to “false and reckless” allegations in an effort to extract monetary damages. Diageo also says sales of DeLeon have doubled since the 2021 agreement.
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In late May, Sean Diddy Combs sued his longtime spirits partner Diageo, citing racism and claiming the brand was falling short in their support of Ciroc and DeLeon. Today (June 27), Diageo announced it is severing its business ties with Diddy.
Diddy filed his lawsuit with the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan. Per the complaint, Diddy’s Ciroc vodka and DeLeon tequila brands were not being pushed with the same gusto as other celebrity brands under the Diageo umbrella, like Casamigos which is backed by actor George Clooney and which Diageo purchased for $1 billion in 2017. According to Diddy, it came down to racism his brands are perceived as Black and “Urban.” Diddy also pointed to issue with the lack of availability of his brands compared to others in the vast Diageo portfolio that includes Johnny Walker, Guinness, Tanqueray and Smirnoff.
Diageo is denying Diddy’s claims.
Per CNN, Diageo is claiming to have invested $100 million to help grow Diddy’s DeLeón tequila while claiming the mogul contributed a mere $1,000.
“This is a business dispute, and we are saddened that Mr. Combs has chosen to recast this matter as anything other than that,” said a Diageo press rep in response to Diddy’s initial filing. “Our steadfast commitment to diversity within our company and the communities we serve is something we take very seriously. We are disappointed our efforts to resolve this business dispute amicably have been ignored, and that Mr. Combs has chosen to damage a productive and valued partnership.”
Well today, the other shoe dropped. Diageo, which has been in business with the Hip-Hop mogul since 2007, announced that it was cuttings its brand partnerships with Diddy. The brand intends to arbitrate alleged breaches of their DeLeón agreement while the Cîroc relationship is terminated.
“Mr. Combs’ bad-faith actions have clearly breached his contracts and left us no choice but to move to dismiss his baseless complaint and end our business relationship,” said Diageo in a statement. “We have exhausted every reasonable remedy and see no other path forward.”
Combs’ lawyers responded in kind with a statement of their own.”It’s a cynical and transparent attempt to distract from multiple allegations of discrimination,” said Combs’ attorneys. They added, that Combs has “repeatedly raised concerns as senior executives uttered racially insensitive comments and made biased decisions. He brought the lawsuit to force them to live up to that contract, and instead they respond by trying to get rid of him. This lawsuit and Mr. Combs are not going away.”
Diageo also filed a motion to dismiss Diddy’s lawsuit.
Now it’s on Combs to deliver the receipts.
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Lawyers for alcohol giant Diageo are demanding that a judge toss out a lawsuit from Sean “Diddy” Combs that accuses the company of racism, calling it “false and reckless” and driven by an effort to “extract additional billions” from the company.
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Combs sued in May, claiming Diageo breached his partnership deal for DeLeon Tequila by failing to properly support the brand. But he went a lot further than that, also leveling accusations of racism and claiming Diageo had treated his product line “worse than others because he is Black.”
In the company’s first response to the lawsuit on Tuesday (June 27), Diageo’s lawyers didn’t exactly hold back, either. They called the Diddy’s lawsuit a “bad faith, sham action” filed by a star who had “amassed nearly one 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 entirely without merit,” the company’s attorneys wrote. “Diageo categorically denies these accusations.”
In a statement on Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Diageo echoed the message of the company’s legal filing — and said Diageo had permanently cut ties with the rapper.
“Mr. Combs’ bad-faith actions have clearly breached his contracts and left us no choice but to move to dismiss his baseless complaint and end our business relationship,” the company wrote. “Mr. Combs has repeatedly undermined our partnerships and threatened to publicly defame Diageo if we did not meet his unreasonable financial demands.”
In his lawsuit, filed on May 31, attorneys for Diddy’s Combs Wines and Spirits claimed that Diageo had “typecast” his DeLeon as a “Black brand” that could only be sold to “urban” consumers, harming its sales and leaving it lagging behind competing Diageo brands like Casamigos and Don Julio.
“Cloaking itself in the language of diversity and equality is good for Diageo’s business, but it is a lie,” Combs’ lawyers wrote. “While Diageo may conspicuously include images of its Black partners in advertising materials and press releases, its words only provide the illusion of inclusion.”
But in Tuesday’s response, Diageo said those bombastic allegations were just a distraction from a run-of-the-mill business dispute that should have been handled under a binding arbitration agreement that both sides signed. They asked the judge to either dismiss the case or order that it be resolved through that private arbitration process.
“Without its inflammatory rhetoric and false accusations, the complaint is nothing but a garden-variety, and eminently arbitrable, suit alleging breach of contract,” Diageo wrote.
And when it comes to that “garden variety” business dispute, Diageo says it was Combs who was clearly in the wrong. The company claims he was “an unreliable and untrustworthy business partner” who failed to provide sufficient support to help DeLeon thrive, while Diageo supplied over $100 million for the project.
“Unwilling or unable to provide funding for the mutual benefit of the parties and the DeLeón brand, in mid-2020 Combs began to issue threats to damage the brand and defame Diageo and its executives and employees by publicly claiming that DeLeón’s failure to thrive was due to a racial animus against him,” Diageo’s lawyers wrote.
In a statement to Billboard on Tuesday, Combs’ attorney John C. Hueston sharply criticized Diageo’s claims that it was terminating its partnership with the star, saying it was akin to “firing a whistleblower who calls out racism.”
“Over the years, he has repeatedly raised concerns as senior executives uttered racially insensitive comments and made biased decisions based on that point of view,” Hueston said. “Diageo even acknowledged the problem by agreeing in his contract to treat DeLeon the same way it treated their other tequila brands. He brought the lawsuit to force them to live up to that contract, and instead they respond by trying to get rid of him. This lawsuit and Mr. Combs are not going away.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs is suing alcohol giant Diageo for allegedly breaching their partnership deal for a brand of tequila, leveling accusations of racism at the company and claiming it has treated his product line “worse than others because he is Black.”
In a complaint filed Wednesday (May 31) in New York court, attorneys for the star’s Combs Wines and Spirits claimed that Diageo had “typecast” his DeLeon Tequila as a “Black brand” that could only be sold to “urban” consumers, harming its sales and potential for growth.
“Cloaking itself in the language of diversity and equality is good for Diageo’s business, but it is a lie,” Combs’ lawyers wrote. “While Diageo may conspicuously include images of its Black partners in advertising materials and press releases, its words only provide the illusion of inclusion.”
Combs claims the “unequal treatment” DeLeon has received from Diageo has left his brand lagging behind competing Diageo brands like Casamigos and Don Julio — and that the company then used those lower sales figures to offer even less support for the brand.
“Combs Wines seeks to finally put an end to Diageo’s longstanding misconduct,” the star’s lawyers wrote. “Diageo must be ordered by a court to give Combs Wines the same treatment it gives its other, successful tequila brands. It is time that Diageo’s actions match its words.”
In a statement to Billboard, a Diageo spokesperson said the company was “disappointed our efforts to resolve this business dispute amicably have been ignored, and that Mr. Combs has chosen to damage a productive and valued partnership.”
“This is a business dispute, and we are saddened that Mr. Combs has chosen to recast this matter as anything other than that,” the company said. “Our steadfast commitment to diversity within our company and the communities we serve is something we take very seriously. We categorically deny the allegations that have been made and will vigorously defend ourselves in the appropriate forum.“
In technical legal terms, the lawsuit claims that Diageo has violated a specific provision of the operating agreement that governs the Combs-Diageo joint venture that owns DeLeon. It’s not entirely clear what that provision requires — much of the legal complaint is heavily redacted — but the lawsuit claims it was included in the deal to ensure equal treatment.
“Because he knows that contracts matter more than press releases, Mr. Combs insisted that Diageo agree to certain terms to ensure his brands were not ignored or relegated to second-class status,” Combs’ lawyers wrote.
Among other alleged breaches, Combs claims Diageo violated that provision by placing DeLeon in “far fewer outlets than its other tequila brands” and failing to produce enough of it to keep store shelves stocked.
But Combs’ lawyers repeatedly stressed that their case was not simply a run-of-the-mill breach of contract lawsuit: “Similar to the realities experienced by many people of color in the United States, Diageo’s treatment of its business relationship with Mr. Combs was tainted by racial prejudices.”
At one point, Combs claims he was directly told that “things would be different if he were a white, not Black, celebrity.”
“Diageo, in other words, openly admitted that it viewed Mr. Combs merely as a Black man thatmight prove useful in marketing to Black consumers,” Combs said. “Nothing more.”
Read the entire complaint against Diageo here:
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