After a lawsuit accusing the beverage company responsible for Ciroc vodka and DeLeón tequila of racism, it looks like Sean “Diddy” Combs and Diageo are going their separate ways.
The Root previously reported on a suit Diddy filed in May accusing the company of labeling Ciroc and DeLeón as “Black brands” that should only be promoted to “urban consumers.” His claim stated that the company allowed the brands to “wither” while channeling their resources to other brands in their portfolio, including actor George Clooney’s Casamigos tequila. Diddy alleged Stephen Rust, the company’s President of Reserve and New Business, told him in 2019 that “some within Diageo’s leadership resented him for making too much money” and said that if Diddy were Martha Stewart “things would be different.”
Diddy and Diageo have worked together on Ciroc, which is wholly owned by Diageo, since 2007. The “I’ll Be Missing You” rapper entered a joint venture with the company on DeLeón in 2013. And although Diddy’s brands are well-known, they represent a small fraction of the over 200 well-known spirits brands London-based Diageo has in its portfolio, which includes Ketel One vodka and Tanqueray gin.
In a statement provided to The Root, Diageo accuses Diddy of acting in bad faith, leaving them no choice but to end their business arrangement, stating:
“Mr. Combs’ bad-faith actions have clearly breached his contracts and left us no choice but to move to dismiss his baseless complaint and end our business relationship. Mr. Combs has repeatedly undermined our partnerships and threatened to publicly defame Diageo if we did not meet his unreasonable financial demands.
Diageo believes strongly in the CIRÔC and DeLeón brands and remains committed to their success, which is why we tried for years to salvage the broken relationship with Mr. Combs. We funded the purchase of DeLeón for the joint venture and proceeded to invest more than $100 million to grow the brand. Despite having made nearly a billion dollars over the course of our 15-year relationship, Mr. Combs contributed a total of $1,000 and refused to honor his commitments.
We have exhausted every reasonable remedy and see no other path forward.”