Diddy’s business empire continues to crumble in the wake of a slew of sexual assault lawsuits against him at the end of the year. Rolling Stone reports that, after settling his lawsuit against beverage licensing company Diageo, the music mogul will no longer have any ties to the Ciroc vodka or DeLeón tequila brands, relinquishing his 50-percent stake in each.
Diddy sued his former partners in May of last year, claiming racisim at Diageo had stunted the growth of his brands, going so far as asking him to take a backseat in marketing to downplay their reputation as Black brands (Diageo owns 35 percent of Hennessey, by the way). In September, the lawsuit was moved to New York district court and was cleared to become public.
However, in November, Diddy’s ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura filed a lawsuit of her own against him, alleging that he’d beat her, raped her, and coerced her into sexual encounters with other men. Although he and Cassie settled within 24 hours, by then, the damage had been done, and the floodgates opened for three more accusers to come forward over the next month.
This gave DeLeón the leverage to attempt to block the mogul’s request for an injunction granting him a $15 million marketing budget for DeLeón. Today, both parties issued a joint statement revealing the terms of the settlement, although any financial details are being kept out of the press. “Sean Combs and Diageo have now agreed to resolve all disputes between them,” it reads. “Mr. Combs has withdrawn all of his allegations about Diageo and will voluntarily dismiss his lawsuits against Diageo with prejudice. Diageo and Mr. Combs have no ongoing business relationship, either with respect to Cîroc vodka or DeLeón tequila, which Diageo now solely owns.”
As the lawsuits have continued, Diddy stepped down from his role as Chairman of Revolt, while many brands associated with his Empower Global marketplace have removed themselves.
