Rapper, producer and entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs is suing Diageo, saying the London-based spirits company -- which owns more than 200 brands, including Guinness beer and Tanqueray gin -- didn't make promised investments in his vodka and tequila brands and treated them as inferior "urban" products. The lawsuit, filed with the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan on Wednesday, says Diageo North America starved Combs' Ciroc vodka and DeLeon tequila brands of resources even as it showered attention on other celebrity brands. Diageo bought actor George Clooney's Casamigos tequila brand for $1 billion, for example. Combs, who is Black, said Diageo leadership told him his race was one of the reasons it limited distribution to urban neighborhoods. He was also told that some Diageo leaders resented him for making too much money, according to the lawsuit. "Cloaking itself in the language of diversity and equality is good for Diageo's business, but it is a lie," the lawsuit says. "While Diageo may conspicuously include images of its Black partners in advertising materials and press releases, its words only provide the illusion of inclusion." Diageo denied allegations of racism. "This is a business dispute, and we are saddened that Mr. Combs has chosen to recast this matter as anything other than that," the company said. "While we respect Mr. Combs as an artist and entrepreneur, his allegations lack merit, and we are confident the facts will show that he has been treated fairly."
The actor Armie Hammer will not face criminal charges after a police investigation into a sexual assault allegation against him, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office says. In 2021, a woman accused Hammer of raping her in 2017, prompting the Los Angeles Police Department to open an investigation into the actor, whose Hollywood career has been derailed by the allegation and accusations from other women that he had physically abused them. Hammer has maintained that all of his interactions with women have been completely consensual. Tiffiny Blacknell, a representative of the district attorney's office, said Wednesday that there was "insufficient evidence to charge Hammer with a crime" because of the "complexity" of the relationship between him and the woman, whose name was not released. Prosecutors, she added, were unable to prove there had been "a nonconsensual, forcible sexual encounter." Hammer said on Instagram that he was grateful to prosecutors for "coming to the conclusion that I have stood by this entire time, that no crime was committed." He added that he looked forward to "what will be a long, difficult process of putting my life back together now that my name is cleared."