Sean "Diddy" Combs has filed a defamation lawsuit against Courtney Burgess, who alleged he possessed videos depicting the mogul sexually assaulting celebrities and potentially minors.

The lawsuit, filed in New York on Wednesday, also names Burgess’ attorney, Ariel Mitchell, and Nexstar Media Inc., which operates NewsNation, as defendants.

“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is taking a stand against the malicious falsehoods that have been fabricated and amplified by individuals seeking to profit at his expense,” stated Combs' attorney, Erica Wolff. “These defendants have willfully fabricated and disseminated outrageous lies with reckless disregard for the truth.”

According to the New York Times, Burgess claimed he obtained the alleged videos through a mutual connection to the late Kim Porter, who shared four children with Combs and passed away in 2018. Burgess also asserted he received a draft of Porter’s memoir. He was subsequently subpoenaed for grand jury testimony in Diddy's upcoming trial.

Following his grand jury testimony, Burgess appeared on NewsNation with Mitchell, where he reiterated his claims about the videos and alleged that "two to three" of the individuals depicted could be underage.

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Mitchell is accused of knowingly promoting Burgess’s false claims, including appearances on the Peacock documentary The Making of a Bad Boy and another interview with NewsNation, where she stated "there already have been tapes leaking around Hollywood, being shopped around to individuals in Hollywood."

The complaint accuses NewsNation of airing these allegations without proper verification.

The New York Times also reported that Burgess testified to the grand jury that he disposed of the original flash drives containing the videos, but that his phone and email might still contain copies. His phone has since been seized.

Combs maintains he and his family have never met Burgess. The complaint alleges that Porter’s children and her roommate of 20 years have also never heard of him. Burgess has also stated that he has never met Combs.

“Their falsehoods have poisoned public perception and contaminated the jury pool,” Wolff added. “This complaint should serve as a warning that such intentional falsehoods, which undermine Mr. Combs’s right to a fair trial, will no longer be tolerated."

Combs is seeking $50 million in monetary and punitive damages to "hold the defendants accountable for their malicious and reckless conduct," according to the lawsuit.

In response to the lawsuit, Mitchell stated to the New York Times, "I look forward to countersuing and ensuring the court punishes not only Diddy but also his lawyers who filed this pathetic lawsuit for this frivolous and meritless filing."

Combs is currently awaiting trial in May on racketeering and sex trafficking charges and is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

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