is accusing liquor giant Diageo of “unlawful retaliation” after the company ended their business relationship over a lawsuit Diddy filed claiming a “pattern of racial discrimination.” That's according to a new lawsuit filed in the New York Supreme Court on Friday and obtained by The Daily Beast. It’s the latest in a combative series of back-and-forth litigation between the rapper and his former business partners.
“Diageo has instructed distributors and retailers of DeLeón not to talk to Mr. Combs about his own brand. Diageo, with its massive power in the industry, is doing everything it can to send a message, not only to Mr. Combs but to others like him: Speak up and you will be punished,” the lawsuit alleges.
Combs alleged that Stephen Rust, Diageo’s President of Reserve and New Business, told him in 2019 that Combs’ “race” was the reason the company limited the neighborhoods where the products were sold, and that if Combs were “Martha Stewart” it would be different, according to the suit.