Diddy has been hit with another lawsuit.
The music mogul is reportedly being sued by his former business associate for violating a contract and for theft. The lawsuit was filed but Charles Kenyatta Jr., an inmate at Collins Correctional Facility in New York.
In the lawsuit, Kenyatta Jr. claims that Diddy is making money off of his trademark for the Act Bad Brand. Although Diddy has a binding legal document for the trademark to be a part of his company Bad Boy Part 4 LLC, he wasn’t given permission to make money off of it.
Last year, Diddy released a single called “Act Bad” featuring Fabolous and City Girls, and then went on to perform the song and sell merchandise with the phrase on it also.
Kenyatta’s lawsuit also claims that his lawyer tried to reach out to Diddy to talk things over with him about the trademark but was ignored. “The Certificate of Engagement and release Bad Boy Part 4 LLC contract was made and signed without the consent, assent or knowledge of Charles Kenyatta Jr….Plaintiff was entered into a contract with Sean Combs, owner of Bad Boy Part 4 LLC, without consent,” the lawsuit explains.
It continued, “The contract was sent to Plaintiff’s Entertainment Lawyer Andrew Covington on June 1st, 2023. The Plaintiff’s lawyer contacted defendant Sean Combs’ Lawyer Pamela Gurley and was told the contract was agreed by both parties. After that, Defendant Sean Comb’s lawyer stopped answering emails from Plaintiff’s Lawyer Andrew Covington.”
Kenyatta Jr. also claimed that Diddy and an unknown associate forced him out of the original trademark agreement, stating that Diddy infringed on the trademark. His suit added, “Sean Combs made a song called ‘ACT BAD’ and wanted to [sell] Act Bad merchandise, a percentage of the net profits for recorded song and music video, also a percentage of merchandise T-shirts, hats, etc….Charles Kenyatta Jr did not sign [the] contract because he was incarcerated, and any contract should be [forwarded] to his Power of Attorney to sign on his behalf. Secondly, it was another person’s name on the contract that had to be removed. The percentage was not of Plaintiff’s liking, there was no upfront or advance monetary and it was a bunch of miscellaneous things Plaintiff wanted to remove off contract.”
It went on to say, “The defendant Sean Combs and John Doe had a scheme to illegally squeeze out Plaintiff Charles Kenyatta Jr. from the contract. Plaintiff’s lawyer told Defendant Sean Comb’s lawyer John Doe has no ownership of Act Bad and should not be on the contract. A few weeks after that the defendant Sean Combs and John Doe were seen on stage performing the song ‘Act Bad’ together. After defendant Sean Combs and John Doe signed contract without Charles Kenyatta Jr.’s consent, the defendant Sean Combs use of trademark caused confusion as to the affiliation, connection.”
Charles Kenyatta Jr. is suing Diddy for $10 million in damages.