Sean Combs, popularly known as P. Diddy or Puff Daddy
Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs has filed a $100m (£80.5m) lawsuit against the makers of a recent documentary about him, as he continues to face allegations of sexual assault.
The rapper is currently in a New York jail awaiting a federal criminal trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, which he denies.
On Wednesday, Diddy’s lawyer said he was suing TV network NBC, its streaming service Peacock, and production company Ample over their documentary Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.
The legal action alleges the documentary featured untrue and defamatory statements about the rapper. The three companies have not yet commented.
The lawsuit says 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”.
It said the programme “maliciously and baselessly jumps to the conclusion that Mr Combs is a ‘monster'”, and included claims that makers “knew were false or published with reckless disregard as to whether they were false or not”.
Diddy is seeking $100m in damages for the “reputational and economic harm” caused by the documentary.
The lawsuit says the programme “falsely, recklessly, and maliciously accuses Mr Combs of murdering” figures around him including former partner Kim Porter and rapper Christopher Wallace, known as Biggie Smalls and The Notorious BIG.
Mr Combs’ lawyer Erica Wolff said NBC, Peacock and Ample “made a conscious decision to line their own pockets at the expense of truth, decency, and basic standards of professional journalism”.
They “maliciously and recklessly broadcast outrageous lies”, she said in a statement.
BBC News has asked NBC and Ample for comment.
The lawsuit comes after a string of allegations have been made against the rap star by both men and women over the past 16 months.
It’s thought there are currently more than 30 separate civil lawsuits against him.
The star has been accused of kidnapping, drugging and coercing women into sexual activities, sometimes through the use of firearms and threats of violence. Diddy is also accused of assaulting and raping people.
Earlier this month, a lawyer who represents dozens of accusers said he expected Diddy to face more than 10 new civil lawsuits in addition to those previously filed.
Last week, the BBC published an investigation after speaking to more than 20 people who worked with Diddy at his Bad Boy Records, who described troubling incidents they say they witnessed during the label’s 1990s rise.
Mr. Combs has consistently denied the allegations in the lawsuits, and has previously labelled them “sickening”. He has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges.
In a previous statement to the BBC, Mr Combs’ lawyer said: “In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone – man or woman, adult or minor.”
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