Diddy Must Pay Nearly $500,000 for Failed NBC Defamation Lawsuit Over Documentary, Judge Rules
The now-imprisoned mogul is on the hook for legal fees after a judge threw out his claims over The Making of a Bad Boy .
Diddy, whose real name is Sean Combs, has been ordered to pay nearly $500,000 in legal fees after his unsuccessful defamation lawsuit against NBC Universal for their 2025 documentary, "The Making of a Bad Boy." The ruling, issued on Tuesday, states that Combs must reimburse NBCUniversal for the $478,000 the company spent to convince a judge to dismiss the lawsuit earlier in the year.
While this sum is significant, it represents about half of the original $990,000 demanded by NBC's high-powered legal team at Gibson Dunn. The judge, Phaedra F. Perry-Bond, found that while NBC's attorneys charged high hourly rates, these were justified given the publicity, complexity, damages, and the quality of their work. NBC was able to trim their total bill by $512,000, largely due to the judge's belief that some of the billed hours were excessive.
Combs, who is currently incarcerated for arranging cross-country prostitution events, had initially sought nearly $100 million in damages against NBC, alleging the documentary portrayed him falsely in connection with the deaths of The Notorious B.I.G. and Kim Porter. The judge dismissed his claims, finding NBC followed proper journalistic standards and that Combs did not deny the allegations.
Combs is currently appealing his prison sentence, denying all allegations of sexual misconduct, and faces numerous ongoing civil lawsuits, which he maintains he has not engaged in any wrongdoing.
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