*Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ failed $100 million defamation lawsuit against NBCUniversal is about to cost him nearly $1 million more. The media companies, including Peacock and Ample Entertainment, are billing him $990,292 for the legal work it took to beat his claim in court, according to AllHipHop.
The dispute traces back to “Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy,” a documentary Combs argued smeared his reputation with false and reckless claims. He objected to segments tying him to the deaths of Kim Porter, The Notorious B.I.G., Heavy D and Andre Harrell.
The doc explores the influences that shaped the Bad Boy Records founder and the allegations that tarnished his reputation, Variety reported. The special includes testimony from those who worked closely with Combs, along with rare footage of his personal life. One anonymous source claims to have witnessed troubling incidents involving underage girls. Diddy’s lawsuit also challenged accusations concerning an alleged attack on Al B. Sure.
Judge Phaedra Perry-Bond threw out the case entirely in April. Her decision found the film gave space to multiple perspectives and that Combs never demonstrated the kind of reckless conduct his claim required. NBC bolstered its position by quoting Combs’ own sentencing statement: “Because of my decisions, I lost my freedom. I lost my career. I totally destroyed my reputation.”
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Now the fight has entered the money phase. NBC’s legal team is invoking New York’s anti-SLAPP statute, which shifts legal costs onto plaintiffs whose lawsuits target protected speech. Their filing framed the case as exactly the scenario the law was built for. “Combs threatened Defendants with massive damages for speech he disliked, and engaged prominent counsel to litigate it. Combs cannot criticize Defendants for doing the same.”
Combs isn’t contesting that NBC is owed something. His pushback centers on the size of the bill, arguing the companies hired pricier lawyers and logged more hours than necessary. “Combs does not dispute that Defendants are entitled to fees. Instead, he complains that despite demanding ‘not less than $100 [million],’ Defendants should have retained less-experienced counsel and devoted less time to defeating his defamation claim.”
NBC defended its 777.5 billed hours as reasonable, citing precedent where courts approved fees for 900 hours on a single motion.
The bill lands while Combs remains incarcerated at FCI Fort Dix, serving 50 months on Mann Act convictions and facing more than 100 separate civil suits.
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