Sean Combs has filed a defamation lawsuit against NewsNation parent company Nextstar and Courtney Burgess, who was subpoenaed by federal prosecutors to testify in front of a grand jury considering additional charges against the rap mogul over alleged videos depicting sexual encounters involving him and other celebrities.
Combs, in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in New York federal court, claims Nextstar’s interviews with Burgess’ lawyer in which she states that her client possessed videos showing the singer sexually assaulting celebrities, some of whom appeared underage, may prevent him from receiving a fair trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. He seeks at least $50 million.
In a statement, Erica Wolff, a lawyer representing Combs, said her client is “taking a stand against the malicious falsehoods that have been fabricated and amplified by individuals seeking to profit at his expense.” She added, “These defendants have willfully fabricated and disseminated outrageous lies with reckless disregard for the truth. Their falsehoods have poisoned public perception and contaminated the jury pool. 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.”
The lawsuit points to Mitchell’s interview with NewsNation in September, in which she stated that “there already have been tapes leaking around Hollywood, being shopped around to individuals in Hollywood.” Referencing Burgess or one of his associates, Mitchell continued that a person “contacted me to shop a particular video they were in possession of and to contact the person who was in the video to see if they were interested in purchasing the video before it became public knowledge.”
Combs takes issue with Mitchell describing the inquiry as a “catch and kill,” explaining that the rap mogul was “in the tape and this other person was, I would venture to say, more high profile than Mr. Combs.”
The NewsNation host, speaking about Combs’ home, responded, “It sounds like there was probably a lot of hidden cameras as well.”
Mitchell replied that it “doesn’t seem like the person knows they’re being videotaped… [it is] like they’re being surreptitiously recorded.”
More to come…
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