Sean “Diddy” Combs and NewsNation owner Nexstar Media are weighing settlement talks in his $100 million defamation lawsuit after a federal judge kept alive a claim over an on-air allegation involving drug-laced baby oil.
A Sept. 10 court filing shows the parties are considering either mediation or a settlement conference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave. Combs’ attorneys asked for additional time to discuss the options with him while he remains in federal prison.
The possible talks come after U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan narrowed Combs’ case against Nexstar but allowed the baby oil allegation to move forward. Cronan also rejected attorney Ariel Mitchell’s bid to dismiss the claims against her.
Combs sued Nexstar, Mitchell and her client Courtney Burgess over statements aired on NewsNation’s “Banfield” program in 2024. His amended complaint seeks at least $100 million in damages.
Burgess claimed during an October 2024 broadcast that he possessed flash drives once belonging to Combs’ late former partner, Kim Porter, containing videos involving celebrities and people he alleged appeared to be minors. Combs claims Burgess fabricated the story and never knew Porter.
Another segment featured Mitchell discussing whether baby oil could be mixed with drugs and used to incapacitate someone. Combs alleges Mitchell lacked evidence for the accusation and that NewsNation aired the statement despite reasons to question its accuracy.
Cronan ruled Sept. 4 that Combs had pleaded enough facts for the baby oil claim against Nexstar to proceed. The judge wrote that someone hearing the allegation could plausibly have entertained serious doubts about its accuracy.
Three other statements Combs attributed to Nexstar were dismissed after Cronan found his complaint failed to plausibly allege actual malice by the broadcaster. Those statements concerned purported recordings involving celebrities and minors, secret recordings of sexual encounters and a police report Mitchell said supported another accusation against Combs.
Because Combs is a public figure, his defamation case requires him to prove actual malice, meaning the challenged statement was made with knowledge that it was false or reckless disregard for whether it was true.
Cronan’s ruling addressed whether Combs had alleged enough facts to continue the case at this stage. The surviving Nexstar claim can now proceed into the next phase of litigation unless the parties reach an agreement.
Mitchell remains exposed to a broader set of allegations. Cronan denied her motion to dismiss, allowing Combs to continue pursuing claims involving the alleged recordings, the police report, purported extortion, and the baby oil accusation.
Settlement discussions could offer Nexstar and Combs a path to resolve the surviving dispute before further discovery and a potential trial. The parties are still deciding whether to enter mediation or seek a settlement conference, and the Sept. 10 filing does not disclose any proposed payment.
Courtney Burgess has followed a separate path in the case. He failed to respond after Combs received permission to serve him through alternative methods, leading the court clerk to enter a certificate of default against him on April 30. The court has yet to determine damages tied to that default.
Combs is serving a 50-month federal prison sentence after a jury convicted him in 2025 on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Jurors acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges. Federal Bureau of Prisons records list his projected release date as Feb. 5, 2028.
Attorneys are scheduled to appear before Cronan on Sept. 17 to discuss the next steps in the case, including the remaining discovery dispute and the possibility of mediation or a settlement conference.
