Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accuses drinks giant Diageo of racism in US lawsuit
The US rapper, producer and entrepreneur Sean Combs has sued the spirits giant Diageo, accusing the British multinational of racism, and of deliberately undermining a joint-venture spirits brand.
In a court filing on Wednesday, lawyers for Combs say Diageo and its executives have “put their feet on the neck of Mr Combs’ brands”, choking off production, distribution and sales of Combs Wines and Spirits brands, including Ciroc vodka and the high-end tequila brand DeLeon.
Combs’s lawyers are seeking a court order “to provide the equal treatment” they say Diageo “contractually promised”. The filing states that Combs
Wines and Spirits plans to seek “billions of dollars in damages due to Diageo’s neglect and breaches” in a separate lawsuit.
“In public, Diageo – a multi-billion dollar, publicly-traded spirits company – proclaims itself a leader in diversity and inclusion,” the filing, in New York supreme court, begins.
But that claim “is a lie”, Coombs lawyers claim, alleging the company has been “unwilling to treat its Black partners equally – even when explicitly required by contract to do so”.
Combs, who has gone by the names Puff Daddy, P Diddy and Diddy, has had a long and successful venture with Diageo in promoting its Ciroc vodka brand. In 2014, he announced a 50/50 partnership with Diageo to buy DeLeon, an “ultra premium” tequila.
The brand’s most expensive offerings can cost close to $1,000.
In the court filing, Combs’ lawyers accuse Diageo of failing to support the brands, and of marginalizing their appeal by marketing them as “Black brands”.
“Rather than equal treatment, Diageo has treated Mr Combs and his brands worse than others because he is Black. Diageo has typecast Ciroc and DeLeon, apparently deciding they are ‘Black brands’ that should be targeted only to ‘urban’ consumers,” the filings claim.
The filings claim Diageo’s president of reserve and new business, Stephen Rust, directly acknowledged the com