Rapper and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs has withdrawn his lawsuit against Diageo as part of a settlement with the London-based spirits giant.

Combs and Diageo “have now agreed to resolve all disputes between them,” the two parties said in a statement released Tuesday. Diageo is now the sole owner of Ciroc vodka and DeLeon tequila, two brands Combs had part-owned and promoted in the past, and has no business relationship with Combs going forward.

No further details of the settlement were released. Combs sued Diageo in May, saying the company didn’t make promised investments in Ciroc and DeLeon and treated them as inferior “urban” products.

Combs, who signed a deal to promote Ciroc in 2007 and purchased DeLeon with Diageo in 2013, said the neglect worsened after Diageo bought two competing tequila brands: Don Julio in 2014 and Casamigos in 2017. Diageo owns more than 200 brands, including Guinness beer and Tanqueray gin.

Combs, who is Black, also accused Diageo of racism. In court filings, Combs said Diageo leadership told him race was one of the reasons it limited distribution to “urban” neighborhoods. Combs was also told some Diageo leaders resented him for making too much money.

Diageo denied those claims. In legal filings, Diageo accused Combs of resorting to “false and reckless” allegations “in an effort to extract additional billions” from the company.

Combs’ reputation took a serious hit after the lawsuit was filed. In November, he was sued by R&B singer Cassie, who said he subjected her to a yearslong abusive relationship that included beatings and rape. Combs settled the lawsuit with Cassie, whose full name is Casandra Ventura, a few days after it was filed.

In other news – Actor Alec Musser’s cause of death revealed

A cause of death has been revealed in the passing of Alec Musser, the late actor and model best known for his roles in “All My Children” and “Grown Ups.” Musser, who was found dead in his California home this past weekend, died by suicide, according to a new press release from the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office. The cause of death was determined to be a shotgun wound in the chest.

“His fiancée last knew him to be alive on the evening of 01/12/2024 when she had gone to bed,” the medical examiner said in its report. “On the morning of 01/13/2024, she awoke and went to find (Musser) seated and slumped forward on the bathroom floor. She noted a firearm near him and an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest and called 911.” Read More