Finally severing one of the most lucrative musician-beverage partnerships in history, embattled music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs will no longer have any involvement with liquor giant Diageo. Combs and Diageo had long collaborated on the Ciroc vodka and DeLeón tequila lines.
Combs had initially sued the London-based Diageo in May of 2023. In a statement released on Jan. 16, Diageo announced that Combs had withdrawn his lawsuit, and that the parties “have now agreed to resolve all disputes between them."
Combs' empire has been under threat in the aftermath of multiple sexual assault allegations.
Combs’ involvement with DeLeón and Ciroc represented a major piece of the mogul’s business empire, which has come under threat as his public image has turned toxic. Coming just a few months after Combs was hit with multiple sexual assault lawsuits, the announcement follows Combs’ decision to step down from his Revolt TV network late last year. A planned reality series with Hulu was also scrapped.
Combs and Diageo first entered into business in 2007, with Combs serving as the face of Ciroc vodka. Later, Combs and Diageo jointly purchased the DeLeón tequila brand. Per today's statement, Diageo is now the sole owner of DeLeón.
In addition to stepping down from his role at TV network Revolt, a reality series featuring Combs' family was scrapped.
While a legal battle between the two had been simmering for several months, Diageo redoubled its efforts to fully break ties with Combs after he was accused of multiple incidents of sexual assault. Those accusations began with a lawsuit from Combs’ former partner Cassie in November, which was settled out of court the following day. Shortly thereafter, the accusations broadened to include three other women, all of whom claimed in lawsuits that they had been sexually assaulted by the mogul. Combs has denied all of the accusations, writing in a message posted to X (formerly known as Twitter): “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
Combs had initially sued Diageo in May of 2023, months before the allegations surfaced. In a filing, he alleged that the company — which had purchased competing tequila brands Don Julio and Casamigos in recent years — was underserving his DeLeón tequila line. Combs’ lawsuit accused Diageo of racist practices, alleging that the company had begun treating DeLeón as an “urban” brand, rather than a premium one, after the acquisitions.
Diageo called Combs’ claims “false and reckless” and alleged the complaints were “an effort to extract additional billions” from the company. Diageo claimed that Combs had earned nearly $1 billion dollars through his 15-year partnership with the company.
Shortly before multiple women accused him of sexual assault, Combs received the Key to the City of New York from mayor Eric Adams.
Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Combs was one of the most ambitious multidisciplinary entrepreneurs to emerge out of hip-hop, launching everything from the Sean John clothing line to the Revolt network. But his partnership with Diageo may well have been his most successful venture. As Combs claimed to Variety in a 2018 interview, the Ciroc vodka brand had shipped 40,000 cases the year before he came onboard the brand; a decade later, he claimed it was moving more than 2.5 million cases per year.
