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Drinks giant Diageo and rapper Sean Combs, known as Diddy, have settled a legal dispute over their joint spirits brands. The drinks giant ended its partnership with Combs in June last year, after he sued the firm, accusing it of neglecting his tequila brands “due to his race”. At the time, the American rapper claimed that Diageo “typecasted” Cîroc and DeLeon, deciding they are “black brands” that should be targeted only to “urban consumers”. Combs also alleged that Diageo’s president of reserve and new business, Stephen Rust, told him that “things would be different if he were a white, not Black, celebrity”. A joint statement on Tuesday, 16 January 2024, confirmed that Combs had withdrawn all of his allegations against Diageo. The statement read: “Sean Combs and Diageo have now agreed to resolve all disputes between them. Mr. Combs has withdrawn all of his allegations about Diageo and will voluntarily dismiss his lawsuits against Diageo with prejudice. Diageo and Mr. Combs have no ongoing business relationship, either with respect to Cîroc vodka or DeLeón tequila, which Diageo now solely owns.” Diageo, owner of Guinness and Tanqueray, said last year that its relationship with Combs had been in difficulty since the rapper failed to meet promises to fund DeLeon Tequila, which Combs and Diageo bought together in 2013. Diageo said it had invested more than $100 million in DeLeon Tequila and "tried for years to salvage the broken relationship with Mr Combs". "Despite having made nearly a billion dollars over the course of our 15-year relationship, Mr Combs contributed a total of $1,000 and refused to honour his commitments," the company said. With the dispute resolved, the Cîroc vodka and DeLeón tequila brands are now solely owned by Diageo. You may also like to read: