EXCLUSIVE: Diddy Gets Massive Win As $100M Lawsuit Over Lawyer’s Laced Baby Oil Claims Moves Forward

Diddy scored a major courtroom win as a federal judge rejected Ariel Mitchell’s attempt to dismiss his defamation lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge John Cronan ruled that Mitchell must continue defending claims tied to televised accusations about Diddy.

The judge denied Mitchell’s motion in its entirety while allowing one portion of the separate claim against NewsNation’s parent, Nexstar Media Inc., to continue.

Diddy says Burgess falsely claimed he possessed 11 flash drives showing him sexually assaulting celebrities and minors, while Mitchell vouched for the story.

The complaint also targeted Mitchell’s statements about a supposed California police report, alleged secret recordings, drug-laced baby oil and claims that Diddy victimized “hundreds, maybe thousands” of people.

AllHipHop reported the case began at $50 million before the amended complaint sought at least $100 million. Diddy says the statements damaged his reputation, livelihood and chance at a fair criminal trial.

Mitchell’s defense argued that her media appearances repeated information supplied by Burgess, expressed opinion or received protection because she was discussing anticipated litigation.

“Whether a particular police report corroborates an allegation of rape and whether a particular sex tape exists are clearly questions of fact that are ‘capable of being proven false,'” Cronan wrote.

The judge also rejected the idea that repeating another person’s accusation automatically protected Mitchell, writing, “it is a ‘black-letter rule that one who republishes a libel [or slander may be] subject to liability . . . even though he attributes the [defamatory] statement to the original publisher.'”

Cronan said those accusations went beyond protected opinion because courts could evaluate the described conduct as true or false.

“Finally, Mitchell’s accusations that Combs sexually assaulted celebrities and minors, secretly recorded his sexual partners, used those recordings to extort people, drugged a woman with drug-laced baby oil, and victimized ‘hundreds, maybe thousands of people’ are not inactionable opinion or hyperbole because they carry precise meanings that are readily understood.”

“Mitchell’s final argument for dismissal is that Combs has not adequately alleged actual malice. This argument fails because Combs alleges that Mitchell repeatedly professed personal knowledge of evidence that did not exist and that she had no basis to believe existed.”

NewsNation’s corporate owner received a mixed result because the court dismissed several claims tied to the alleged videos, hidden recordings and police report, but allowed the baby-oil claim to proceed.

Burgess’s position is different because he never appeared in the case after being served through methods approved by the court.

AllHipHop reported in April that Burgess missed a February 2, 2026 response deadline after service by email, text messages and newspaper advertisements.

The new order says the clerk entered a certificate of default against Burgess on April 30, but it also states that Diddy’s claim against him is not addressed in this opinion.

That means Burgess has lost his chance to defend himself at this stage, but the court has not yet awarded Diddy the $100 million in damages he demanded.

The ruling arrives as Diddy serves a 50-month sentence at FCI Fort Dix after a jury convicted him on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution under the Mann Act.

The jury acquitted him of racketeering and sex trafficking, and AllHipHop’s latest prison update lists his projected release date as February 5, 2028.

The court has scheduled a September 17, 2026 conference to discuss discovery, mediation and the next steps in the defamation case.