After nearly nine months of an ugly public legal battle, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Diageo have settled disputes over allegations from the music mogul that the brands he collaborated with Diageo on— Cîroc Vodka and DeLeon Tequila— received worse treatment because of his race.
The parties “have now agreed to resolve all disputes between them,” read a statement from Diageo and Combs this morning. “Mr. Combs has withdrawn all of his allegations about Diageo and will voluntarily dismiss his lawsuits against Diageo with prejudice.”
The statement continued that Diageo and Combs have “no ongoing business relationship, either with respect to Cîroc Vodka or DeLeón Tequila, which Diageo now solely owns.” Diageo currently and always has fully owned Cîroc, and the group previously partnered with Combs on brand marketing.
The dispute began last May when a complaint was filed by Combs Wines and Spirits, a company owned by Combs, in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan against Diageo’s North American business. Among accusations of racial discrimination, the lawsuit also said Diageo has put more resources into the portfolio’s other tequilas, including fellow celebrity George Clooney’s Casamigos, which Diageo acquired in 2017 for up to $1 billion.
The filing stated that Combs Wines and Spirits planned to seek “billions of dollars in damages due to Diageo’s neglect and breaches” in a separate lawsuit.
Diageo responded in June by severing ties with Combs, ending the two parties’ 15-year business relationship and claiming that the allegations were false and defamatory. Diageo asked the judge to send Combs’ lawsuit to arbitration or dismiss the complaint entirely. The mogul scored a legal victory when the Supreme Court of New York denied Diageo’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit and its motion to force the case into arbitration. In October, Diageo responded by countersuing, and said Combs leveraged allegations of “racial animus” to extort the firm.
While not named as a cause for settlement, the saga was made even more complicated after the spirits company used the sexual assault lawsuits against the music mogul to bolster its case.
Combs is often credited with illustrating the power of celebrity backing to boost spirit sales. In 2007, Diageo enlisted Combs to develop its Cîroc brand, at the time a low-ranked vodka. After Combs took charge of the brand’s strategic marketing, Cîroc ascended to a top seller within a few years, growing from a 50,000-case-per-year vodka into nearly 2 million-per-year. It has since released several product variations, including ready-to-drink line CÎROC Vodka Spritz.
The success of that collaboration spurred Diageo to form a joint venture with Combs in 2014 and to purchase DeLeón, a boutique high-end tequila brand.
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