Source: Noam Galai / Getty
The New York native and the spirits brand Diageo have cut ties after a long legal battle where he accused it of not fulfilling its duties of properly marketing his
Cîroc vodka and
DeLeón tequila because of racism.
The two parties worked together for more than a decade, having first partnered to promote Cîroc in 2007 and jointly purchasing DeLeón in 2013.
In a joint public statement, both parties state that Diddy has dismissed his claims against the company, and the relationship has ended with ownership reverting back to Diageo.
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“Sean Combs and Diageo have now agreed to resolve all disputes between them. Mr. Combs has withdrawn all of his allegations about Diageo and will voluntarily dismiss his lawsuits against Diageo with prejudice,” the
statement reads. “Diageo and Mr. Combs have no ongoing business relationship, either with respect to Cîroc vodka or DeLeón tequila, which Diageo now solely owns.”
In the
original suit, Diddy compared the treatment of Cîroc and DeLeón to other spirits it controls, like George Clooney’s Casamigos, which they reportedly “invested more than $1 billion to acquire and grow.”
Diddy claims that the same level of care wasn’t put into his brand because they were seen as “urban,” and the marketing team had a “misguided belief that a black entrepreneur could only appeal to others who shared his skin color.”
Things took a turn again in November when Diageo filed a letter to prevent Diddy from promoting DeLeón any longer because Cassie accused him of rape and sexual abuse throughout their relationship. Diddy settled the bombshell lawsuit just a day later, but the damage to his image was already done.
With the ruling, Diageo, one of the largest spirit brands in the world, moves on with some of the big names in its portfolio, including Guinness, Tanqueray, Don Julio and Johnnie Walker.
Social media, on the other hand, is delighted to see Diddy lose a profitable business in the wake of his sexual abuse cases. See the reactions below.
