Music

Diddy Says He Switched Lawyers in Defamation Suit Because 'I Won't Let Anyone Take Advantage of Me'

"This is strictly a business matter," Diddy said in a statement shared via a spokesperson.

Diddy in a black leather jacket and sunglasses holds a microphone, with trees blurred in the background.
Image via Getty/Shareif Ziyadat/Sean "Diddy" Combs

Diddy is speaking out amid reports that lawyers representing him in a multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit are stepping away due to legal fees they allege have gone unpaid.

In a statement shared with Complex on Wednesday (Sept. 16) through his spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, the currently incarcerated Bad Boy Records founder disputed claims from the Sher Tremonte LLP firm that he has been in “substantial arrears” for months.

“I made the decision to switch lawyers because I won't let anyone take advantage of me by overcharging me and running up bills that were never approved,” Diddy said Wednesday. “This is strictly a business matter, and any talk about unpaid fees is just part of our dispute over those unapproved charges.”

The statement arrived amid coverage of Sher Tremonte LLP lawyers filing a motion to withdraw as Diddy’s counsel in a $100 million suit naming NewsNation owner Nexstar, among others. The filings, as first reported by TMZ and elsewhere on Wednesday, see Diddy accused of being “unreasonably difficult” in the proceedings.

As you’ll recall from our coverage last year, Diddy alleges that the defendants in the suit partook in “willful schemes to fabricate and broadcast outrageous lies,” further arguing that they then sought to “leverage those falsehoods to enrich themselves.”

Diddy is currently serving out a sentence in the low-security Fort Dix correctional institution in New Jersey following his conviction on Mann Act violations last July. He’s slated for a February 2028 release, though the exact date has changed a few times since his conviction.

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