‘SABOTAGED’

Diddy Claims Diageo Ditched His Tequila Brand and Discriminated Against Him

The complaint accuses Diageo of labeling DeLeón as “urban” and a “Black brand,” and admitting to Diddy that race was one reason it was limiting distribution.

Sean “Diddy” Combs is coming after alcoholic beverage company Diageo with claims that it left the DeLeón tequila brand, which it co-owns with Combs, behind in favor of two other brands and racially discriminated against the music star. Filed in New York State Supreme Court Wednesday, the complaint alleges mismanagement of DeLeón by Diageo and years of complaints by Combs over issues such as a consistent failure to stock products and a butchered product redesign in 2019. Combs also calls out Diageo for labeling his tequila as “urban” and a “Black brand,” citing an incident in which the company’s executive Stephen Rust apparently admitted race was one reason it was limiting distribution of DeLeón. According to the lawsuit, Rust went as far as to say that Combs’ tequila would be distributed more if it belonged to Martha Stewart instead. “DeLeón continues to be sabotaged by Diageo management and neglect,” Combs wrote to Diageo’s chief executive in 2020, the suit states. The music mogul wants Diageo to comply with their 2013 joint-venture deal and all other agreements the two parties signed to address Combs’ initial complaints. Diageo did not respond for comment from the Wall Street Journal.