Sean Combs has been ordered to pay nearly $500,000 in legal fees after losing his defamation lawsuit against NBCUniversal for its 2025 Peacock documentary, Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.
A New York state judge ordered the Bad Boy founder to pay NBCUniversal’s high-paid lawyers $477,700 for bringing the unsuccessful suit, which was dismissed in April. (Combs filed an appeal.) Although Combs owes nearly half a million dollars, that is a significant reduction from the $990,000 legal bill the attorneys originally sought, according to court papers filed Tuesday.
A representative for Combs did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
Combs had filed the $100 million lawsuit against the network in February 2025, claiming the documentary promoted conspiracy theories and “maliciously advanc[ed] the unhinged narrative that Mr. Combs is a serial killer” by highlighting the deaths of The Notorious B.I.G. and his ex-partner Kim Porter.
“[The documentary] shamelessly advances conspiracy theories that lack any foundation in reality, repeatedly insinuating that Mr. Combs is a serial killer because it cannot be a ‘coincidence’ that multiple people in Mr. Combs’s orbit have died,” the 17-page lawsuit claimed. “[Amplifying these claims] with absolutely no evidence or logic to stand on and in the face of clear evidence to the contrary – Defendants spread fake news of the most damaging kind.”
But earlier this year, a judge rejected Combs’ claim that he was defamed, noting in a 12-page decision that the documentary makers did not act irresponsibly or defame him.
“It is inconceivable as to how the Documentary created additional damage to [Combs’] reputation, which was already tarnished by the numerous lawsuits, domestic violence video, press coverage, and a criminal indictment before the Documentary’s publication,” the judge wrote.
This isn’t the only hefty legal bill Combs is facing. Last month, his longstanding civil lawyers who had been representing him in the NBC case, as well as numerous sexual assault lawsuits, withdrew from their representation of the multi-millionaire. They cited a “total breakdown in cooperation and communication” and at least six months of outstanding legal bills.
Combs is currently serving a 50-month prison sentence after he was convicted last summer of transportation to engage in prostitution charges. He was acquitted of the more serious offenses of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
His current release date is scheduled for March 2028, a recent change after he was reportedly caught using a contraband cell phone to scroll on Instagram.
Anthony Orosz*
