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An unsealed lawsuit is offering a better look at Diageo’s alleged mismanagement of Diddy’s liquor brands.
Sean Combs’ frustrations with his former business partners at Diageo have spilled all the way into the public eye now that he’s filed a lawsuit alleging that he was racially discriminated against. As previously reported Diageo responded with a big middle finger to the whole thing and ended its partnership with the mogul and now there’s a new update.
According to The Associated Press, Combs initially redacted sections of the lawsuit and asked the court to determine if they violated his NDA. After review, it was determined that a majority of the info could be made public and the new info lays out Diddy’s discrimination allegations in full.
One of the most shocking revelations involved Diageo presenting Diddy with a watermelon-flavored version of the tequila, despite the mogul’s objections and efforts to educate Diageo about the racial history and connotations relating to watermelon.
The lawsuit also alleges during an agave shortage the brand allocated all of its supply to other brands instead of Combs tequila brand. This forced DeLeon to purchase on the secondary market for higher costs. Furthermore, Diageo reportedly planned to not supply any of their own agave to DeLeon for the next five to six years.
Diddy’s other incidents include missing brand targets, impounded shipments, erratic pricing, reassigning employees to other brands, and more actions that hurt Combs Spirits.
More Discrimination Allegations Surface Against Diageo In Unredeacted Lawsuit
Also revealed in the unredacted lawsuit was an email sent in April 2022 to then-CEO Debraoh Crew about Diddy’s frustrations. The email was sent after a Black blender at a major distillery filed a suit for discrimination against Diageo.
“For years I have written to leaders at Diageo to explain that the problems regarding African American diversity and inclusion are bigger than the company has been willing to acknowledge,” Mr. Combs said in the email.
“I know what the experience of working with Diageo has been like for me and my team, so I can imagine what African American employees and suppliers have experienced. While our relationship has been financially successful for all stakeholders, we have not made enough progress on including and empowering the African American community Diageo relies on for billions of dollars.”
This situation seems far from finished since both sides refuse to back down.
