Sean “Diddy” Combs has been ordered to pay NBCUniversal nearly half a million dollars in attorneys’ fees after his defamation lawsuit against the media giant backfired in court.
Combs, 56, must shell out $477,700.50 after a judge ruled against him in the fee dispute, according to court documents. NBCUniversal had originally demanded $990,292 for defending itself against his $100 million lawsuit targeting the documentary “Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy,” but the court slashed that request by more than half.
The rapper’s spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, pushed back against the framing of the ruling as a total loss. He said the outcome was “only half the story,” emphasizing that NBCUniversal had sought nearly $1 million and that the court ultimately cut more than $512,000 from its request.
Engelmayer said the judge found “substantial portions” of NBCUniversal’s billing “excessive and unreasonable.”
“Ironically, the arguments challenging those excessive legal bills were made by the same firm that recently withdrew from representing Sean amid its own billing dispute with him,” he added.
That firm, Sher Tremonte, had been handling Combs’ separate $50 million defamation lawsuit filed in January 2025 against multiple defendants including NewsNation over claims involving alleged sex tapes. In September, attorneys from Sher Tremonte filed a motion to withdraw from that case.
Michael Tremonte, a partner at the firm, stated in court documents that Combs “[had] not paid a substantial balance of attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses” and was “in substantial arrears” on his legal bills.
Combs launched the NBCUniversal suit in February 2025, also naming production company Ample as a defendant. He alleged the documentary caused him “severe reputational and economic harm.” His attorneys claimed in the complaint that the film assumes Combs “has committed numerous heinous crimes, including serial murder, rape of minors, and sex trafficking of minors,” while attempting to “crudely psychologize him.”
“It maliciously and baselessly jumps to the conclusion that Mr. Combs is a ‘monster’ and ‘an embodiment of Lucifer’ with ‘a lot of similarities to Jeffrey Epstein,'” the lawsuit further stated.
The fee award marks another legal setback for the fallen hip-hop mogul, who is currently serving a 50-month prison sentence at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey after he was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Most recently, he was reportedly placed back in solitary confinement after a report revealed his alleged “pampered” lifestyle behind bars.
Combs is currently set to be released on Jan. 21, 2028.