Sean “Diddy” Combs has been hit with a new headache.
On Wednesday, September 16, Page Six reported that Diddy’s lawyers have refused to represent him in his $100 million defamation lawsuit against Courtney Burgess, Ariel Mitchell and Nexstar Media Inc., which operates NewsNation.
Their shocking decision came in the aftermath of the music mogul not paying them the “substantial balance.”
As per the court documents, lawyer Michael Tremonte from Sher Tremonte LLP filed a motion seeking to stop representing Diddy in the case, citing that he “has not paid a substantial balance of attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses.”
He claimed that the disgraced rapper “is in substantial arrears in paying Sher Tremonte’s legal fees” for “over 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,” he stated in the filing.
Tremonte added that their representation “has been rendered unreasonably difficult by Mr. Combs’s lack of cooperation and communication, resulting in a breakdown in the attorney-client relationship. Mr. Combs has declined to make himself available for timely, substantive, and direct communications about his cases for over four months.”
He urged the court to “grant the instant” motion to step back from their position as Diddy’s legal team.
About Diddy’s sentence
Diddy is currently serving a four-year sentence at Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institution in New Jersey for prostitution-related charges.
The sentence, which was handed down in October 2025, also included a fine of $500,000 and mandatory participation in programmes for his mental health and substance abuse issues.
He was found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution following a federal trial in New York.
Meanwhile, the 56-year-old was acquitted of more severe charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering charges, which could have resulted in life behind bars.
Diddy is also participating in a drug-abuse rehabilitation programme at FCI Fort Dix, while his legal team continues to appeal his conviction and sentence.
