Diddy is taking Sean John to court. The hip-hop mogul has filed a $25 million lawsuit against the fashion brand he founded, along with the company’s owner GBG USA.
According to AllHipHop, Sean John launched a new women’s clothing line with retailer Missguided and illegally used Diddy’s image, likeness, and persona without his permission.
Diddy sold Sean John to Global Brands Group in 2016. In the lawsuit, which was filed in Manhattan on Thursday (Feb. 4), he claims Sean John, Missguided, and GBG fabricated quotes to make it seem as if he was involved with the Sean John x Missguided line for women. However, Diddy claims the companies manipulated the press with false statements attributed to him.
“[Diddy] does not challenge [Sean John/GBG’s] right to use the Sean John trademark, but rather [Sean John/GBG’s] decision to leverage a fabricated quote they created and then falsely attributed to Mr. Combs, and to use Mr. Combs’s name and other monikers to create the false and misleading impression that Mr. Combs is the decision-maker behind the designs and creation of the GBG Collection,” said Diddy’s lawyer Jonathan Davis.
This isn’t the first time Combs has battled with the clothing brand. Last month, Combs accused the owners of using his “Vote or Die” slogan on SeanJohn.com.
This comes a month after Diddy reportedly filed his first lawsuit against Sean John over the trademark for the phrase “Vote Or Die.” He alleges that Sean John and GBG have illegally used and trademarked the phrase and was selling merchandise bearing the slogan during the presidential election.