A federal judge has ruled that Sean “Diddy” Combs can move forward with part of his defamation lawsuit against NewsNation parent Nexstar Media Inc., but only over one narrow claim: that the network aired an unfounded allegation suggesting Combs laced baby oil with drugs to incapacitate sexual assault victims. Everything else Combs alleged against the network was tossed out.
U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan issued the September 4 ruling denying motions by NewsNation and attorney Ariel Mitchell to dismiss Combs's slander lawsuit, according to Billboard. Mitchell had said on air that she had done research indicating baby oil could be mixed with drugs before being doused on a sexual assault victim to lower their defenses — a claim Combs alleged was scientifically baseless and defamatory. As Reason Magazine reports, Cronan found the transdermal-lacing claim inherently improbable enough that Combs could plausibly allege the network acted with actual malice — the legal standard public figures must meet in defamation cases, requiring proof a publisher acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
Three Other Claims Dismissed
The same order dismissed Combs's defamation claims tied to three other broadcast statements, including allegations that secret pornographic recordings existed and a claim about a corroborating rape police report. Per the same Reason Magazine report, the judge found Combs failed to show NewsNation acted with actual malice in airing those third-party allegations, since media outlets generally are not liable for broadcasting third-party claims absent obvious reasons to doubt their veracity. Combs had also alleged Mitchell said her client, Courtney Burgess, had access to video recordings of Combs engaged in sexual assault — a claim Combs denies applies to him — but the court ruled NewsNation cannot be held liable for Mitchell's statements about Burgess's access to those materials.
Judge Cronan wrote that anyone hearing the drug-laced baby-oil claim might entertain serious doubts about its accuracy, according to the outlet's report. That reasoning became the dividing line between the claim that survives and the ones that didn't. Combs can still pursue his claim against Mitchell over the video-recording statement directly, even though NewsNation itself is shielded from that particular allegation.
Who's Still In the Case
Burgess, the third defendant in Combs's lawsuit who originally made the televised allegations that sparked the case, has not responded to the complaint, leaving him facing the prospect of a default judgment. Burgess, who claims to know Combs, previously testified as a witness before the Manhattan grand jury that charged Combs in 2024. Reps for Combs, NewsNation, and Mitchell did not immediately return requests for comment on the ruling.
The lawsuit itself has grown considerably since it was filed. Combs originally brought the federal slander action against Burgess, Mitchell, and Nexstar in January 2025 seeking $50 million, before an amended complaint in August 2025 raised the requested damages to $100 million, according to Complex. Combs has argued the defendants engaged in a calculated campaign to profit off media attention surrounding his case. The ruling is a procedural step rather than a final determination on the merits, and Combs still carries the burden of proving actual malice by clear and convincing evidence should the case proceed to trial, unless the parties settle first. New York's anti-SLAPP law was significantly expanded in 2020, according to a New York Courts decision in USL Mar., LLC v Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest.
A Pattern of Losses Against Media Companies
The NewsNation ruling comes just months after a much bigger defeat for Combs's media litigation strategy. In April 2026, New York Supreme Court Judge Phaedra F. Perry-Bond dismissed his separate $100 million defamation lawsuit against NBCUniversal over Peacock's 2025 documentary “Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy,” a case Hoodline covered in detail in its report on that ruling. According to Forbes, that court found the documentary could not have caused new reputational harm given Combs's own public admission at sentencing. Combs is appealing that ruling. In the meantime, NBCUniversal, Peacock, and production company Ample Entertainment filed court documents in August seeking $990,292 in legal fees from Combs, according to EURweb — a reminder of the financial exposure Combs faces each time one of these suits against a media outlet collapses.
The Underlying Criminal Case
The broadcasts at the center of the NewsNation suit aired during the run-up to Combs's criminal trial. A federal jury in Manhattan acquitted Combs of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges in July 2025 but convicted him on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution under the Mann Act, according to Court TV. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced Combs that October to 50 months in federal prison and a $500,000 fine, well short of the 11-year term prosecutors had sought. Bureau of Prisons records as of mid-2026 projected his release for early 2028, reflecting credit for time served since his September 2024 arrest and good conduct credits, per ABC News.
Combs is currently serving that sentence, and Hoodline has previously reported on related fights over his legal appeal, seized property, and separate civil litigation, including a case where a rape lawsuit was allowed to advance despite challenges from his defense team. This latest ruling adds one more thread to an already sprawling web of litigation that Combs is pursuing — and defending against — while behind bars.
