Diddy Ordered to Pay NBCUniversal $478K After Losing $100M Defamation Lawsuit

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been ordered to pay NBCUniversal and other defendants $477,700.50 in legal fees after losing his $100 million defamation lawsuit over the Peacock documentary Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.

New York Supreme Court Justice Phaedra F. Perry-Bond issued the fee award on October 6, 2026, nearly six months after dismissing Combs’ lawsuit under New York’s anti-SLAPP law. NBCUniversal, Peacock and production company Ample had sought $990,292 for the cost of defending the case.

Perry-Bond ultimately awarded less than half that amount, finding that some of the hours billed by NBCUniversal’s lawyers at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher were excessive even as she approved their hourly rates.

The six-lawyer team charged rates ranging from $915 for a junior associate to $1,980 for a senior partner. Perry-Bond acknowledged that those figures were higher than customary rates but declined to reduce them, citing the publicity and complexity of the case, the $100 million in damages at stake, the attorneys’ experience and the quality of their work.

She instead cut more than $512,000 from the hours billed, including about $269,000 for work drafting a motion and $78,000 for internal discussions among the attorneys.

Combs’ representative, Juda Engelmayer, emphasized the reduction, saying NBCUniversal had sought nearly $1 million and that the court found substantial portions of its billing excessive and unreasonable.

The fee award stems from Perry-Bond’s April 20 dismissal of the lawsuit under New York’s anti-SLAPP protections. The law provides an expedited way to challenge lawsuits targeting speech or other activity involving matters of public concern and allows successful defendants to recover attorneys’ fees.

Because NBCUniversal and the other defendants prevailed on their anti-SLAPP motion, Perry-Bond directed them to seek reimbursement for the cost of defending the case.

Combs sued NBCUniversal, Peacock and Ample in February 2025, alleging the documentary falsely portrayed him as responsible for multiple deaths and other serious crimes. He sought at least $100 million in damages.

Among the statements he challenged were allegations concerning the deaths of his former partner Kim Porter and rapper Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G., as well as claims involving the late music executives Andre Harrell and Heavy D. Combs also objected to allegations involving underage girls and purported secretly recorded sex tapes.

In dismissing the case, Perry-Bond found that Combs had failed to establish a substantial basis for his defamation claims under the heightened standard that applies to cases covered by New York’s anti-SLAPP law.

The judge found that the documentary, viewed as a whole, did not show that NBCUniversal acted with gross irresponsibility in publishing the disputed allegations. She pointed in part to the program’s presentation of the claims as theories advanced by interviewees rather than established facts and its inclusion of Combs’ denials.

Musician Al B. Sure!, who had a longtime relationship with Porter, was among those interviewed in the documentary. Perry-Bond noted that viewers were given information allowing them to assess the perspectives and potential biases of people making allegations about Combs.

The April ruling did not determine whether the allegations discussed in the documentary were true. It instead found that Combs had not met the legal standard required to continue his defamation case against the companies that produced and distributed it.

Combs later challenged the size of NBCUniversal’s fee request, arguing that any award should be limited to approximately $166,769. He also asked Perry-Bond to delay deciding the issue while he pursued an appeal of the dismissal.

The judge rejected the request to postpone the fee decision but substantially reduced the amount NBCUniversal sought.

The civil ruling comes as Combs serves a 50-month federal prison sentence following his conviction on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. A jury acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking charges. He is separately appealing his criminal conviction and sentence.

The $477,700.50 order leaves the dismissal of his NBCUniversal defamation case intact while requiring him to cover nearly half a million dollars of the defendants’ legal costs.