By Philip Marcelo
New York – Sean “Diddy” Combs is suing NBCUniversal over a documentary he says falsely accuses him of being a serial murderer who had sex with underage girls as he awaits trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
The lawsuit filed in New York state court says Diddy: Making of a Bad Boy included statements that NBC Universal either knew were false or published with reckless disregard for the truth.
Sean “Diddy” Combs is suing NBC Universal.Credit: AP
“The entire premise of the documentary assumes that Mr Combs has committed numerous heinous crimes, including serial murder, rape of minors, and sex trafficking of minors, and attempts to crudely psychologise him,” the complaint reads. “It maliciously and baselessly jumps to the conclusion that Mr Combs is a ‘monster’ and ‘an embodiment of Lucifer’ with ‘a lot of similarities’ to Jeffrey Epstein.”
Spokespersons for NBC Universal and the documentary producer didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. The documentary premiered last month on streaming service Peacock TV.
“From his childhood to becoming a mogul, this raw look at Sean Combs’ journey through exclusive footage and candid interviews explores his rise, controversies and the man behind the music,” a description reads.
Combs, who is seeking $100 million in damages, has been in prison since his arrest in September on racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking charges.
Prosecutors say he used his wealth and influence to coerce alleged victims into drug-fuelled, days-long sexual performances known as “freak offs”.
They say Combs used blackmail and violence in a pattern of abuse that goes back to the early 2000s.
Combs has pleaded not guilty ahead of his May trial. He is also facing multiple civil lawsuits and denies the allegations.
Erica Wolff, an attorney for Combs, said NBC and others named in the suit “maliciously and recklessly broadcast outrageous lies”.
“[The] defendants seek only to capitalise on the public’s appetite for scandal without any regard for the truth,” she said in a statement.
Combs’ lawsuit says the documentary “falsely, recklessly, and maliciously” accuses him of murdering Kimberly Porter, Christopher Wallace and Dwight Arrington Myers, among others.
Porter, a model who had been Combs’ longtime girlfriend and the mother of some of his children, died in 2008, aged 47, from pneumonia complications.
Wallace, the rapper known as The Notorious B.I.G., was killed in 1997 in an unsolved drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, aged 24.
Myers, the rapper known as “Heavy D,” died from a pulmonary embolism in 2011, aged 44.
“It shamelessly advances conspiracy theories that lack any foundation ... repeatedly insinuating that Mr Combs is a serial killer because it cannot be a ‘coincidence’ that multiple people in Mr Combs’s orbit have died,” the complaint reads.
It says the documentary included claims Combs had sex with underage girls, citing as evidence a civil complaint that’s been “thoroughly discredited”, as the women referenced have since confirmed they were adults at the time.
AP
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