Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyers are trying to quit his $100 million defamation case, calling the jailed rapper “unreasonably difficult.”
Attorney Michael Tremonte, a partner at Sher Tremonte LLP, filed a motion to withdraw as counsel for Combs, 56, in the lawsuit against Courtney Burgess, Ariel Mitchell and Nexstar Media Inc., according to court documents. The filing claims the “Act Bad” emcee owes a substantial balance of unpaid attorney’s fees, costs and expenses stretching back more than six months.
“For many months, while Sher Tremonte has been rendering legal services, Mr. Combs has not remitted any payment for the substantial balance of attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses incurred during Sher Tremonte’s representation of him in this matter,” Tremonte stated in the filing.
The lawyer also alleged that Combs “has declined to make himself available for timely, substantive, and direct communications about his cases for over four months,” Tremonte wrote that their representation “has been rendered unreasonablydifficult by Mr. Combs’s lack of cooperation and communication, resulting in a breakdown in the attorney-client relationship.”
Combs, currently incarcerated at Fort Dix, pushed back through a representative in a statement provided to the outlet. “I made the decision to switch lawyers because I won’t let anyone take advantage of me by overcharging me and running up bills that were never approved.”
“This is strictly a business matter, and any talk about unpaid fees is just part of our dispute over those unapproved charges,” Combs added.
The defamation suit originated in January 2025, when Combs filed a $50 million complaint against Burgess, Mitchell and Nexstar Media Inc., which operates NewsNation. The rapper, a father of seven, later amended the lawsuit to seek an additional $50 million in damages, bringing the total to $100 million.
Per the complaint, Burgess allegedly fabricated claims about Combs that Mitchell co-signed and NewsNation broadcast. The suit contends that Mitchell knew her “client’s claims were false or at a minimum was utterly reckless in disregarding their falsity.”
The case traces back to fall 2024, when Burgess testified before a grand jury and subsequently appeared on NewsNation to assert that he possessed nearly a dozen flash drives containing Combs’ alleged sex tapes. Burgess claimed these tapes allegedly featured male and female celebrities and a few minors. According to Combs’ complaint, Burgess “falsely claimed that he possessed videos of Mr. Combs involved in the sexual assault of celebrities and minors. Burgess repeated this false claim many times to anyone who would listen, including reporters for major news outlets (including NewsNation, which recklessly repeated and amplified his lies as if they were true).”
Combs’ legal troubles extend well beyond this civil matter. Last July, the “I Need a Girl” hitmaker was found not guilty on two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and on racketeering conspiracy. However, he was convicted on two counts of transportation for prostitution and sentenced to 50 months behind bars. He was transferred from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, to Fort Dix.
Tremonte has asked the court to grant the motion to withdraw as Combs’ counsel. It remains unclear who would represent the rapper in the defamation case should the court approve the departure of Sher Tremonte LLP.
Combs is slated to be released from prison on Feb. 5, 2028.
