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Once the Diddy hit the fan, it was only a matter of time before other big names got wrapped up in it. We were promised as much — Tony Buzbee promised to find the silent accomplices and enablers who undergirded Diddy’s alleged freakoffs. But the line between tracking down collaborators and alleged extortion isn’t always clear. Buzbee’s tactics have resulted in an unnamed plaintiff accusing him of inflicting emotional distress and extortion. Law360 has coverage:
“Plaintiff presently faces a gun to his head — either repeatedly pay an exorbitant sum of money to stop defendants from the wide publication of wildly false allegations of sexual assault that would subject plaintiff to opprobrium and irreparably harm plaintiff’s reputation, family, career and livelihood, or else face the threat of an untold number of civil suits and financial and personal ruin,” the complaint says. “The theme of defendants’ statements and correspondence is the immediate and extensive threat of exposure if plaintiff fails to make a sufficient offer of money. This is textbook extortion.”
There isn’t enough information at the moment to know who is in the wrong here. Diddy is a great example of how easy it can be to take the moral high road and deny any involvement or wrongdoing right up until CNN releases video evidence to the public. Buzbee described his letter to the plaintiff as a request for confidential mediation. The nature of the correspondence may ultimately be determined by a judge and jury.
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.