Bob Van Voris

Bloomberg

<p><a href="https://fortune.com/company/diageo/" target="_blank">Diageo</a> North America said it is breaking off its business relationship with Sean “Diddy” Combs after the music mogul accused the world’s biggest spirits maker of racism in neglecting his liquor brands. </p><div class="paywall-selector"></div><div class="paywall">



<p>Diageo made the announcement in a Tuesday court filing responding to Combs’s lawsuit last month, which accused the company of racial bias in failing to adequately promote his Ciroc Vodka and DeLeón Tequila brands. Diageo asked the judge in the case to force Combs’s claims into arbitration or dismiss the case.</p>



<p>“Diageo is profoundly disappointed that Sean Combs, an entertainer and entrepreneur who has amassed nearly one billion dollars from a fifteen-year relationship with Diageo, has caused this bad faith, sham action to be improperly brought before this Court,” Diageo said in the Manhattan federal court filing.</p>



<p>“Diageo attempting to end its deals with Mr. Combs is like firing a whistleblower who calls out racism,” his lawyer, John Hueston, said in a statement. “It’s a cynical and transparent attempt to distract from multiple allegations of discrimination.”</p>



<p>Combs claimed in his suit that Diageo paid lip service to promoting diversity in its business relationships while failing to adequately promote his brands. As evidence of bias, he pointed in his suit to the company’s $1 billion acquisition and marketing of the Casamigos tequila brand partly founded by actor George Clooney.</p>



<p>Diageo said in its court filing that it was Combs who failed to support his brands, putting only $1,000 into the joint venture while the company invested $100 million.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“The Combs parties’ failure to fund the JV created a contentious relationship, severely damaged the DeLeón brand at a critical juncture, and stalled its promise and potential for growth for several years,” Diageo said.</p>



<p>A Diageo spokesperson said the brands will continue to be sold while both sides fight over the end of their relationship.</p></div>

Diageo returned fire by saying Combs had amassed nearly $1 billion dollars from a long business relationship of selling vodka and tequila together.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs dumped by Diageo after his racism claim

<b>Do you have what it takes to make it to the C-suite? </b>Learn how Fortune 500 CEOs overcame surprising obstacles on the road to the corner office, and learn leadership strategies that make you smarter in seconds. <a href="https://fortune.com/newsletters/next-to-lead?&itm_source=fortune&itm_medium=article_tout&itm_campaign=next_to_lead">Sign up for Next to Lead</a>, our weekly newsletter by editor Ruth Umoh.

F-Wire

Diageo

Retail

Music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is dumped by world's largest spirits maker after he accused it of racism and paying lip service to diversity

Music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is dumped by world’s largest spirits maker after he accused it of racism and paying lip service to diversity

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs dumped by Diageo after his racism claim | Fortune

Chloe Berger

Skechers draw backlash for full-page ad in Vogue that reeks of AI. ‘You actually didn’t save any money because now I hate you’

/2024/12/14/skechers-draw-backlash-for-full-page-ad-in-vogue-that-reeks-of-ai-you-actually-didnt-save-any-money-because-now-i-hate-you/

Sasha Rogelberg

Costco shoppers looking over piles of jeans.

Costco CFO warns Trump’s tariffs could mean widespread price hikes: ‘When it rains, it rains on everybody’

/2024/12/13/costco-cfo-gary-millerchip-price-increases-donald-trump-tariffs/

Starbucks gives baristas smaller pay raises after tough year

/2024/12/12/starbucks-gives-baristas-smaller-pay-raises-after-tough-year/

Brooke Seipel

the Switchback [12 oz and 16 oz] and Trigger Action [12 oz, 16 oz and 20 oz] Travel Mugs

Stanley recalls popular travel mug sold at Walmart, Amazon, and Target over burn injuries

/2024/12/12/stanley-recall-travel-mug-burn-injuries-switchback-trigger-action/

Jenn Brice

Amazon’s AGI boss: You don’t need a PhD in machine learning to build with AI anymore

/2024/12/12/no-phd-necessary-build-with-ai-amazon-agi-boss-roshit-prasad-brainstormai/

Sydney Lake

Temu’s billionaire founder lost his title as China’s richest person just 20 days after winning it

/article/temu-billionaire-founder-colin-huang-lost-title-as-chinas-richest-person/

Paolo Confino

Elon Musk’s lawyer said the SEC demanded the Tesla CEO pay a fine or face charges to resolve an investigation into his purchase of Twitter

https://fortune.com/2024/12/14/elon-musks-lawyer-said-the-sec-demanded-the-tesla-ceo-pay-a-fine-or-face-charges-to-resolve-an-investigation-into-his-purchase-of-twitter/?itm_source=parsely-api

Ani Freedman

Study confirms link between cancer and at least 10 popular ultra-processed foods

https://fortune.com/well/article/ultra-processed-foods-link-cancer-inflammation/?itm_source=parsely-api

Return-to-office mandates are associated with an exodus of high performers, research finds

https://fortune.com/2024/12/11/return-to-office-mandate-employees-study/?itm_source=parsely-api

Fortune Editors

CEOs struggle to process their new reality after the public glee at Brian Thompson’s killing

https://fortune.com/2024/12/14/unitedhealthcare-killing-ceos-respond-social-media-backlash/?itm_source=parsely-api

Former Aetna CEO says he’d eliminate employer-sponsored insurance to fix the U.S. healthcare industry in wake of UnitedHealthcare shooting

https://fortune.com/2024/12/13/former-aetna-ceo-oscar-health-mark-bertolini-response-unitedhealthcare-shooting-employer-insurance/?itm_source=parsely-api

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos kept his base salary modest during his 20 years as CEO. It likely saved him millions in taxes

https://fortune.com/2024/12/11/amazon-ceo-founder-jeff-bezos-salary-80000-avoided-taxes/?itm_source=parsely-api