Diddy Ordered to Pay NBC Nearly $478,000 After $100M Documentary Lawsuit Dismissed

Sean 'Diddy' Combs has been ordered to pay $477,700.50 (about £361,960) in attorneys' fees after the dismissal of his $100 million (£76 million) defamation lawsuit over the Peacock documentary Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.

The fee order, filed on 6 October, awards the money to defendants NBCUniversal Media, Peacock TV and production company Ample. New York Supreme Court Justice Phaedra F. Perry-Bond approved less than half of the $990,292 (£750,290) they requested, according to reporting on the decision.

The ruling creates a financial consequence for Combs' unsuccessful case. However, the judge's substantial reductions also gave his representatives grounds to challenge how the outcome was being characterised.

Judge Cuts More Than $512,000 From the Bill

The court reduced the requested fees by $512,591.50 (£395,000), leaving approximately 48 per cent of the original demand payable.

Perry-Bond accepted the lawyers' hourly rates, which ranged from $915 (£705) to $1,980 (£1,525), but found parts of the time charged excessive. The reductions covered work including internal discussions, preparation for oral argument and drafting dismissal papers.

One significant adjustment concerned the defendants' first motion to dismiss. The judge reduced the amount recoverable for that work from $344,301 (£265,000) to $75,000 (£57,750), finding substantial overlap with arguments in a later motion.

Combs had argued that any award should be capped at $166,769.25 (£129,000). The final figure therefore fell well below the defendants' demand but remained substantially above his proposed limit.

Why Combs Sued Over the Documentary

Peacock released Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy on 14 January 2025. Its promotional material highlighted interviews with people connected to Combs' life, including a childhood friend and former bodyguard.

Combs filed his lawsuit the following month, alleging that the programme promoted baseless theories linking him to deaths including those of his former partner Kim Porter and rapper The Notorious B.I.G. Those were allegations about the documentary's content, not established findings that Combs was responsible for either death.

The court dismissed his defamation case in April 2026. Rolling Stone reported that the judge rejected his claim that the filmmakers had defamed him and questioned what additional reputational damage the programme had caused beyond the extensive publicity already surrounding him. Combs subsequently filed an appeal.

Why Losing the Case Led to Legal Fees

The dismissal brought New York's anti-SLAPP provisions into play. SLAPP stands for 'strategic lawsuit against public participation'.

Under the state's Civil Rights Law, qualifying defendants can recover legal costs when an action involving public participation lacks a substantial basis in fact and law and cannot be supported by an argument for changing existing law.

Billboard's reporting explained that the court applied those protections in this case. The October decision determined how much of the defendants' legal expenditure Combs must reimburse. It was a civil fee award, rather than a new criminal penalty or a ruling establishing every allegation featured in the film.

Combs' Team Emphasises the Reduction

Responding to the ruling, Combs' spokesperson Juda Engelmayer highlighted the portion of the bill the judge rejected.

He said the court had found substantial parts of NBCUniversal's request 'excessive and unreasonable', according to TMZ. He emphasised that more than $512,000 had been removed from the demand.

The reduction limits Combs' liability for those fees. It does not reverse the dismissal of his documentary lawsuit or remove the remaining payment obligation.