Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, has filed a lawsuit against the alcohol company Diageo, alleging breach of contract and failure to invest in his liquor brands because of his race.
In a complaint filed yesterday, the rapper cited that Diageo did not adequately invest in brands owned by him. The reason is that the rapper is black. The rapper claims in his lawsuit that the alcohol company neglected his DeLeón tequila brand while vigorously promoting two others, including Casamigos, co-owned by George Clooney.
The complaint was filed by Combs Wines and Spirits, an alcohol company owned by Mr. Combs. The 32-page lawsuit reads in part;
Cloaking itself in the language of diversity and equality is good for Diageo’s business, but it is a lie. While Diageo may conspicuously include images of its Black partners in advertising materials and press releases, its words only provide the illusion of inclusion. As Combs Wines and Sean Combs have experienced firsthand, Diageo, by and through its parent company’s Chief Executive Officer Ivan Menezes, has proven unwilling to treat its Black partners equally— even when explicitly required by contract to do so.
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According to The Wall Street Journal, DeLeón, which Combs has co-owned with Diageo since 2014, has a 0.4% share, Casamigos, which Diageo acquired in 2017, is the top-selling tequila brand in the United States, accounting for roughly 13% of tequila sales in retail establishments.
Diageo has responded to Diddy’s lawsuit saying that the matter was not a racial discrimination issue but rather a business dispute. In a statement they wrote;
This is a business dispute, and we are saddened that Mr. Combs has chosen to recast this matter as anything other than that.
The rapper also complained that the alcohol brand showed favoritism towards brands with owners from other races while discriminating against Diddy’s tequila brand and therefore breaching the contract signed by the companies.
Diddy is seeking billions of cash in damages from Diageo.
