\n<\/p>\n
Near the peak of the intrigue surrounding Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs<\/strong> last year, a purported memoir<\/a> by Kim Porter, the late mother of four of his children, rose to the top of the Amazon best-seller list. Kim\u2019s Lost Words<\/em> recounted a supposed array of startling sexual adventures and violence, and ended with Porter seeming to predict her own murder at her partner\u2019s hands. It was independently published by Chris Todd,<\/strong> a little-known but enthusiastic peddler of celebrity conspiracy; Amazon quickly pulled the book, which a friend of Porter\u2019s described to me at the time as \u201call lies.\u201d<\/p>\n In the lead-up to his trial this spring on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, Combs was primarily fighting his criminal case, but his lawyers also began combatting the cottage industry of media projects that had sprung out of the allegations against him. Following his acquittal<\/a> on the most severe counts he faced\u2014he was convicted on two prostitution charges and remains in jail ahead of his sentencing in October\u2014he has ratcheted up that offensive. Combs last week amended a defamation complaint he had filed in January to seek at least $100 million in damages from Todd affiliate Courtney Burgess,<\/strong> an itinerant social media player who advertises ties to the music industry, as well as Burgess\u2019s attorney and the parent company of a news outlet that aired Burgess\u2019s claims.<\/p>\n According to Combs\u2019s suit, Burgess, lawyer Ariel Mitchell,<\/strong> and Nexstar Media\u2019s NewsNation undertook a scheme to broadcast lies about the mogul. Mitchell said in an interview with the outlet in September that \u201cthere already have been tapes leaking around Hollywood, being shopped around to individuals in Hollywood,\u201d and the host replied, \u201cIt sounds like there was probably a lot of hidden cameras as well.\u201d Burgess has claimed that Porter provided him with a draft of her memoir as well as videos depicting Combs sexually assaulting inebriated celebrities and minors, and he has said that he was the source of the memoir edited and published by Todd. (Todd previously told me, \u201cI stand by this book 100%\u201d; when reached now for comment on the book\u2019s removal from Amazon, he suggested I interview Burgess. Mitchell didn\u2019t return a request for comment on her or Burgess\u2019s behalf; her attorney recently moved to dismiss the suit against her. Nexstar declined to comment.)<\/p>\n \u201cAnybody who read about the trial as it was going on,\u201d Combs\u2019s attorney Teny Geragos<\/strong> said in an interview this week, \u201cwill know by now that none of what was publicly alleged or part of these conspiracy theories prior to the trial are true.\u201d<\/p>\n Geragos said that Combs\u2019s efforts to push back on the prevailing social media chatter should be considered separate from his criminal fight\u2014an attempt to protect his legacy and family. \u201cAfter the sentencing,\u201d she said, \u201cwe will continue to focus on clearing out all the misinformation that was spread about him.\u201d Combs has also sued NBCUniversal and Peacock over their documentary Diddy:<\/em> The Making of a Bad Boy,<\/em> in which the R&B singer Al B. Sure!<\/strong> claims that Porter, with whom he had a child, was murdered. (The Los Angeles coroner\u2019s office said in early 2019 that Porter\u2019s death resulted from lobar pneumonia. A representative for Peacock didn\u2019t return a request for comment, but the company has moved to dismiss the suit.)<\/p>\n Simultaneously, an effort to secure a pardon for Combs is apparently underway. Another of his attorneys, Nicole Westmoreland,<\/strong> recently told CNN, \u201cIt\u2019s my understanding that we\u2019ve reached out and had conversations in reference to a pardon.\u201d Donald Trump,<\/strong> a regular companion of Combs\u2019s in the New York \u201990s, has seemed to enjoy toying with the idea, telling Newsmax, \u201cI was very friendly with him. I got along with him great and he seemed like a nice guy.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, Trump added, \u201cWhen I ran for office, he was very hostile,\u201d noting how that would make pardoning Combs \u201cmore difficult to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Geragos declined to comment on any effort to secure a pardon. For his part, Marc Agnifilo,<\/strong> Combs\u2019s lead attorney, said in an interview with CBS News that he has \u201cnothing to do with a possible pardon\u201d and has \u201chad conversations with nobody.\u201d<\/p>\n To a large degree, Burgess\u2019s and Mitchell\u2019s claims reflected the overall tenor of the discussion around Combs since he was first accused<\/a> of sexual and physical abuse by his ex-girlfriend Casandra \u201cCassie\u201d Ventura<\/strong> in November 2023. (Combs and Ventura quickly settled Ventura\u2019s lawsuit. Combs denied any wrongdoing in connection to Ventura\u2019s claims but apologized after video surfaced of him beating her in the hallway of a hotel.) Combs\u2019s decades of fame and his bountiful photographs with other celebrities made him a natural subject<\/a> for the legions of streamers, podcasters, and social media personalities who have proliferated in recent years. The terms \u201cDiddy parties\u201d and \u201cfreak-offs\u201d became catch-all slang for sexual deviance. When the verdict in Combs\u2019s trial arrived last month, the YouTuber Armon Wiggins<\/strong> poured baby oil on himself amid the celebrations, a reference to the product frequently invoked by prosecutors for having been stocked by Combs. (Wiggins soon issued an Instagram apology for the stunt.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n