Ariel Mitchell, a Miami-based lawyer, has asked a federal judge to dismiss the $50 million lawsuit that Sean "Diddy" Combs filed against her in January 2025. For the uninitiated, Diddy filed a defamation lawsuit against Courtney Burgess, Nexstar Media, and Ariel Mitchell, who was Burgess' lawyer, following their segment on NewNation (owned by Nexstar Media) in October 2024. During the interview on NewNation's Banfield show, Burgess had claimed to be in possession of 11 flash drives containing alleged freak-off videos of Diddy, other celebrities, and minors. Furthermore, Burguess claimed he testified before a grand jury about the alleged sex tapes, adding that the late Kim Porter supposedly gave him the flash drives along with her purported memoir.According to an exclusive report by AllHipHop, published July 21, 2025, Ariel Mitchell has reportedly filed to have the lawsuit against her dismissed. In the filing, Steven A. Metcalf II, her attorney, stated that his client did not indulge in any defamation during her appearance on the NewsNation segment. The attorney added that Mitchell was protected from liability due to her role as Burgess' attorney.“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.Metcalf also continued that the government had seized the flash drives containing the alleged sex tapes, which seemingly proved that Mitchell and her client were 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,” the attorney added.Additionally, Metcalf argued that Mitchell's comments were protected under legal immunity for lawyers. He also implied that Diddy's reputation was already tarnished due to the various testimonies that the jury heard during the seven-week-long sex trafficking trial.In the filing, Metcalf also referenced Diddy's various civil lawsuits, adding that any statement Mitchell made would "pale in comparison and is merely a drop in the bucket" compared to the allegations listed in the numerous lawsuits.Exploring Diddy's defamation lawsuit against Ariel Mitchell and othersIn January 2025, Diddy filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Ariel Mitchess, her client Courtney Burgess, and Nexstar Media, accusing them of “fueling a media frenzy, fabricating outlandish claims and stirring up baseless speculation."This came after Burgess claimed to own several flash drives containing sex tapes of Diddy and other celebrities with minors from the rapper's alleged "freak offs."Diddy's lawsuit claimed the alleged sex tapes were "wild lies and conspiracy theories," adding:“In this pitiful spectacle, all pretense of objectivity has been abandoned, as a global audience feasts at the all-you-can-eat buffet of wild lies and conspiracy theories. Defendants are among the worst perpetrators in this offensive scenario. They eagerly court every opportunity to broadcast blatant falsehoods, pretending they have proof that Mr. Combs engaged in heinous acts, knowing that no such proof exists."Furthermore, the lawsuit claimed that Ariel Mitchell allegedly “knew that her client’s claims were false, or at a minimum was utterly reckless in disregarding their falsity.” According to The New York Post, the suit also accused Mitchell of indulging in "knowingly blatant falsehoods or recklessly false statements" by claiming that she had watched the alleged sex tapes.Additionally, the lawsuit claimed Mitchell reiterated the "known lies" in the Peacock documentary, Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy, released on January 14, 2025, adding:"Defendants had no good faith basis for claiming that Burgess possessed videos of Mr. Combs involved in the sexual assault of anyone. Burgess purposefully made up the videos and told hideous lies about Mr. Combs, and Mitchell and NewsNation either knew that Burgess’s claims were false or made no effort to verify the truth of those false claims."According to USA Today, the lawsuit also claimed that the defendants' "false and defamatory" claims would have "poisoned the minds" of Diddy's potential jurors, while resulting in "severe reputational harm" to the rapper.The filing added that Combs "emphatically and unequivocally denies the charges" against him, adding that the rapper "had faith" in the country's judicial system and was confident that he would be acquitted of his charges.In other news, Combs was found not guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy following his verdict on July 2, 2025. However, he was found guilty of two counts of "transportation to engage in prostitution," and will be sentenced on October 3, 2025.He faces a maximum 20-year sentence for both prostitution charges. Since his arrest, Diddy has been detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center and will remain there till his sentencing hearing, as he was denied bail following his partial acquittal.