Diddy is facing a new legal hurdle in his $50 million defamation lawsuit after Miami-based attorney Ariel Mitchell asked a federal judge to dismiss the case.
Mitchell, who briefly appeared on a NewsNation segment with Courtney Burgess, is accused by Diddy of helping spread what the Bad Boy founder calls “outrageous lies” about his alleged involvement in sex crimes.
The lawsuit, filed in January 2025, also names Burgess and Nexstar Media, which owns NewsNation, as co-defendants.
Burgess claimed during the interview that he received 11 flash drives from the late Kim Porter, which he said contained videos of celebrities participating in “Freakoffs” involving minors.
He also said he had 54 pages from Porter’s memoirs, which Porter’s kids said were fake.
Mitchell’s attorney, Steven A. Metcalf II, argued that her appearance on the program did not include any defamatory statements and that her role as an attorney shields her from liability.
“In addition to performing her role as an attorney for matters involving the preparation of litigation or for pending litigation, such vicarious attributions concerning Defendant Mitchell violate First Amendment principles separating actual speech from associative liability,” Metcalf said.
Mitchell is also arguing that the government’s seizure of the alleged flash drives with the videos supports her statements that she was basically telling the truth.
“Mitchell cannot be said to have acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Photos and videos were produced, leading to a federal subpoena for this specific material. Then the government or members of the Southern District acted in manner to take possession of said materials, and thus the government essentially vouched for its existence of said materials,” Metcalf added.
Diddy has denied all allegations, stating that the claims are fabricated. His lawsuit alleges that the defendants orchestrated a media campaign that harmed his business and personal life.
Mitchell’s legal filing asserts that even if her comments were damaging, they are protected under the legal immunity for attorneys, unless actual malice can be proven.
Diddy was found guilty on two counts of transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution on July 2, 2025, after a months-long federal trial in New York.
Mitchell’s lawyer stated that there was no way she could defame Diddy, given the salacious and wild testimony produced by several witnesses during his trial.
“The evidence elicited at trial was extreme to the point where any living person’s reputation would be affected from such…while I salute his criminal defense team – the fact relevant here is that there are countless of other individuals with actual sexual allegations against Plaintiff, where any statement Mitchell made is pale in comparison and is merely a drop in the bucket,” Metcalf argued.