Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team has filed a motion to withdraw as his counsel in the $100 million defamation lawsuit he brought against Courtney Burgess, attorney Ariel Mitchell, and Nexstar Media Inc., the company behind NewsNation.
According to court documents, attorney Michael Tremonte — a partner at Sher Tremonte LLP — stated that Combs has failed to pay a substantial portion of the fees, costs, and expenses owed to the firm. Tremonte claimed the 56-year-old rapper has been significantly behind on payments for more than six months.
In the filing, Tremonte wrote that despite the firm continuing to provide legal services, Combs has not remitted payment for the outstanding balance accrued during their representation of him in the matter. He further alleged that the working relationship has broken down due to Combs’ lack of cooperation and communication, stating that Combs has declined to engage in timely, substantive, direct conversations about his cases for over four months. Tremonte asked the court to grant the motion allowing the firm to withdraw as counsel.
In response, Combs issued a statement saying he made the decision to change lawyers because he won’t allow anyone to take advantage of him by inflating bills or racking up charges that were never approved. He characterized the situation as strictly a business matter, saying any discussion of unpaid fees is simply part of a broader dispute over those unapproved charges.
Background on the lawsuit
Combs originally filed a $50 million defamation suit in January 2025 against Burgess, Burgess’ attorney Ariel Mitchell, and Nexstar Media. According to the complaint, Burgess made false claims about Combs that Mitchell endorsed and that NewsNation subsequently broadcast.
In the fall of 2024, after testifying before a grand jury, Burgess appeared on NewsNation reiterating his claim that he possessed flash drives allegedly containing explicit recordings involving Combs, which he claimed featured other celebrities and minors. Combs’ lawsuit disputed these claims as false, alleging that Burgess repeated them widely — including to journalists at major outlets, among them NewsNation, which the suit claims amplified the allegations without properly verifying them. The complaint also argued that Mitchell either knew her client’s claims were false or was recklessly indifferent to their accuracy.
Combs later amended the lawsuit to seek an additional $50 million in damages, bringing the total to $100 million.
The defamation suit comes after Combs was acquitted last July on two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, as well as on a racketeering conspiracy charge.