Sean “Diddy” Combs just lost another costly round in the legal fight he launched over Peacock’s documentary about him. A judge ordered Combs to pay NBCUniversal $477,700.50 in attorneys’ fees after the media company successfully defeated his lawsuit involving “Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.”
The Diddy defamation lawsuit could have produced an even larger bill. According to court filing records, NBCUniversal, Peacock and production company Ample sought $990,292 after the case was dismissed. That request included $927,448 for work through May 20, 2026, plus another $62,844 for work tied to the fee dispute. TMZ reported that the judge found the lawyers’ hourly rates reasonable for attorneys with their experience but reduced the total after finding portions of the billing excessive.
The fight began in February 2025, when Combs sued NBCUniversal, Peacock and Ample for at least $100 million over the documentary. According to the Los Angeles Times, Diddy accused the filmmakers of airing false claims and conspiracy theories connecting him to murders, sexual abuse involving minors, and other serious misconduct. His lawsuit alleged the companies published material they knew was false or acted with reckless disregard for whether it was true.
That Diddy defamation lawsuit suffered its biggest setback on April 20, 2026. In her written decision dismissing the amended complaint, New York Supreme Court Justice Phaedra F. Perry Bond ruled that Combs had not established a substantial basis for claiming the documentary was produced with the level of “gross irresponsibility” required to keep the case alive. The judge said the documentary presented multiple viewpoints, disclosed the interests and potential biases of interview subjects, and repeatedly included denials or counter information from Combs and his representatives.
Importantly, the dismissal was not a blanket judicial ruling that every accusation presented in “Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy” was true. The court’s decision focused heavily on how the documentary presented disputed claims. The ruling noted that producers included Combs’ denials, medical findings surrounding Kim Porter’s death, law enforcement conclusions, and statements identifying some claims as unproven. The court separately found that portions of the documentary reporting allegations from existing lawsuits were protected because they substantially reflected judicial proceedings.
That distinction matters because the attorneys’ fee award flows from New York’s anti-SLAPP protections, not simply from NBCUniversal winning an ordinary defamation case. Under New York Civil Rights Law Section 70 a, defendants can recover attorneys’ fees when a covered lawsuit involving public participation lacks the required substantial basis. New York appellate courts have described those fees as mandatory when the statutory standard is met. Perry Bond’s April dismissal specifically directed NBCUniversal and the other defendants to submit a fee application.
Combs did not quietly accept the amount NBCUniversal requested. According to the fee motion filings, his attorneys argued that the April ruling was wrongly decided and asked the judge to wait for his appeal before deciding the fee issue. They also argued that a reasonable award should be no more than $166,769.25 and called NBCUniversal’s claimed 777.5 hours “a staggering number of hours” for a case resolved before discovery. NBCUniversal countered that Combs had sought at least $100 million in damages and that its requested fees reflected the work required to defeat that claim.
The new award also lands at an awkward time in Combs’ relationship with his own civil attorneys. Court docket records show Sher Tremonte LLP moved in September to withdraw from this same NBCUniversal case. In its filing, the firm alleged that Combs had “deliberately disregarded his obligation to pay Sher Tremonte’s legal fees and expenses” and said there had been “a total breakdown in cooperation and communication.” Perry Bond signed an order setting an October 23 return date on the withdrawal request.
The civil fight is unfolding while Combs remains incarcerated following his separate federal criminal case. According to Reuters’ sentencing report, a Manhattan federal jury convicted Combs in July 2025 on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution while acquitting him of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced him that October to 50 months in federal prison.
More recent Bureau of Prisons records cited by USA Today listed Combs at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey with a projected January 21, 2028 release date, though federal release projections can change. Combs is also appealing his criminal conviction and sentence. Meanwhile, his appeal of the NBCUniversal dismissal remains pending, leaving the Diddy defamation lawsuit alive at the appellate level even as the case has already transformed from a $100 million demand against the media companies into a $477,700.50 financial obligation for Combs.
