Diageo ended its 15-year Diddy deal over a racism suit — then kept every brand

For fifteen years Diageo and Sean Combs were partners: Ciroc vodka from 2007, and DeLeon tequila, bought together in 2013 as a joint venture. Combs fronted both brands, and Diageo later said he had made 'nearly a billion dollars' from the relationship — while, it claimed, contributing $1,000 of his own money to DeLeon.

In May 2023 Combs sued, alleging Diageo treated DeLeon as an 'urban' product, under-marketed it to non-Black customers and 'kneecapped' its sales for nearly a decade. Diageo called the suit baseless, accused him of breaching contracts and threatening to defame the company, and on 27 June 2023 ended the partnership outright.

In January 2024 the two sides settled: Combs dropped his lawsuits with prejudice, Diageo took sole ownership of Ciroc and DeLeon, and the parties confirmed they had no ongoing business relationship. Six months later Combs was arrested; in July 2025 a jury convicted him on two federal counts, and in October 2025 he was sentenced to 50 months in prison — a year and a half after Diageo had already cut him loose.

Diageo ended the 15-year, ~$1B partnership outright, then settled in Jan 2024 with full ownership of Ciroc and DeLeon, keeping both brands.

The ambassador was also the co-owner: Combs held a profit share and a joint venture, so a personal dispute became a contract war over the brands themselves.

Diageo's answer to a public racism claim was an immediate, total cut — which preserved the brands but ended a 15-year revenue partnership overnight.

The settlement gave Diageo full ownership, but the cost was the partnership itself: two brands built around one man's name had to be rebuilt without it.

When an ambassador co-owns the brand he fronts, the brand cannot fire him — Diageo's fifteen-year, billion-dollar relationship ended in a lawsuit and a settlement that gave it back its labels.