A legal representative for Universal Music has told Law 360 that the major music company has “heard nothing to suggest they are targets or subjects” of any federal investigation into the alleged conduct of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, whatever Tyrone Blackburn, lawyer to producer Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones, says. In court they added there is “no evidence whatsoever” that the company was present at “any so-called freak-off”.
Universal’s statement followed comments made by Blackburn during a court hearing relating to the explosive lawsuit Jones filed against Combs earlier this year, in which the music company and its CEO Lucian Grainge were named as co-defendants.
The major is still very angry indeed at being pulled into the litigation that was instigated by Jones, even though Blackburn voluntarily removed the company from the lawsuit after admitting there was “no legal basis” for the claims that had been made against it.
Universal is so angry that it wants Blackburn to be formally sanctioned for connecting the company to “vile criminal activity” without evidence, and by relying on “fabricated” facts, and it was in court this week making that case. Such sanctions could include Blackburn being ordered to pay a penalty or - possibly far more serious for the lawyer - to cover Universal’s costs in responding to Jones’s lawsuit.
Despite having backtracked on involving Universal in Jones’s lawsuit, Blackburn was keen to stress to the judge overseeing the case that the sources he spoke to when preparing his client’s litigation were reliable.
According to Law 360, he also claimed that Jones has since provided “key evidence” to the US attorneys for the Southern District Of New York who are leading on the criminal prosecution against Combs, who has been charged with sex trafficking and racketeering.
Blackburn told the court that he is expecting to speak to the Assistant US Attorney about the Combs case for “the tenth time”, revealing that Jones has provided prosecutors with photographic evidence and a map of Combs’ home. Using an American football term for celebrating a victory, he then cautioned Universal’s representatives, “I would be really slow to spike the football … [thinking] they’re in the clear”.
It’s that which prompted legal reps for Universal to subsequently tell Law 360 that they have “heard nothing to suggest they are targets or subjects” of any federal investigation, before adding that they “highly doubt the US attorney is sharing any information with Blackburn”.
Blackburn’s comments about the criminal case against Combs during this week’s court hearing, continued Universal’s lawyers, further demonstrate his “willingness to malign people while hiding behind litigation privilege”.
Jones worked with Combs on 2023’s ‘The Love Album’, which was released in partnership with Universal. The producer’s lawsuit makes a stack of allegations against Combs and his associates, including core claims of sexual harassment and assault, as well as describing various other criminal activities.
His original legal filing claimed that Universal execs, including Grainge, sponsored and attended parties at Combs home where sex workers and underage girls were present, and the drinks of female guests were routinely drugged. The major and its boss “knew or should have known” about the unlawful conduct, the lawsuit claimed.
Universal strongly denied all the allegations against the music company and its executives, stressing that its deal with Combs was a licensing arrangement in relation to the album, and that it had no direct control over the musician or how he spent the money it advanced to him. The major said Blackburn had included the allegations against Universal without fulfilling his legal duties to assess the validity of the claims.
In a legal filing earlier this year calling for Blackburn to be sanctioned, it said the lawyer had misused his licence to practice law to “self-promote, gratuitously, falsely and recklessly accusing the UMG defendants of criminal behaviour. Mr Blackburn has conducted no good faith inquiry into the facts, instead pleading only demonstrably false conclusions”.
At this week’s court hearing, the main question was whether or not Blackburn’s conduct in preparing Jones's lawsuit actually warranted a formal sanction.
The judge said that, while Blackburn’s conduct, as described by Universal, does sound “reckless” and “sloppy”, it wasn’t necessarily sufficiently outrageous to result in sanction, not least because there was some “hearsay evidence” for the allegations that were made.
The judge is yet to make a final ruling on the matter.