Diddy’s mother was sued for allegedly taking Bad Boy Ent. from Kirk Burrowes, a co-founder

In a recent complaint, Burrowes alleges that Diddy used a baseball bat to coerce him into giving up his firm stock.

Sean “Diddy Combs is in yet another legal bind after Kirk Burrowes, his former business partner, filed a lawsuit accusing him of using violence and intimidation to take over Bad Boy Entertainment, which he co-founded.”

According to sensational court records that DailyMail was able to get, Diddy allegedly threatened Burrowes with a baseball bat in 1996 to get him to give his mother, Janice Smalls-Combs, his 25 percent share in the label.

The legal documents state that the alleged harassment took place in Burrowes’ New York City office in May 1996. According to the lawsuit, Combs barged in with a baseball bat and forced Burrowes to give up his shares while accompanied by Kenneth Meiselas, an attorney for Bad Boy Entertainment. The lawsuit claims that Burrowes was “frightened, intimidated, and assaulted by Sean Combs and Kenneth Meiselas by words and actions, and he was forced to give him his share certificate for 25 shares of Bad Boy Entertainment to Sean Combs.”

According to the petition, Burrowes was so overcome with terror that he was “clearly unable to resist under the circumstances” and had “tears streaming down his face.” When Burrowes asked Smalls-Combs for counsel, she allegedly claimed not to be aware of the interaction because she was not there. He asserts, however, that she was complicit and oversaw the entire plot behind the scenes.

He claimed that although though Smalls-Combs wasn’t there for him at the time, he frequently gave her personal advice when she was allegedly being physically abused by her kid. He says he saw Diddy “aggressively overpowering” his mother and accusing her of using “derogatory slurs.”

The 62-year-old claims that Smalls-Combs, 84, participated in a planned attempt to seize control of the business, which has left him homeless and in dire financial straits in New York City. Burrowes was the company’s president at one point, in addition to being its general manager and chief operating officer.

According to the lawsuit, Smalls Combs used “a decades-long scheme of intimidation, violence, fraudulent misrepresentation, and financial concealment” to keep Burrowes under control during an alleged attempt to remove him from the music industry.

Additionally, Burrowes’ career was allegedly systematically ruined by the defendants, who allegedly blacklisted him from the industry, denied him commercial prospects, and damaged his reputation.

Burrowes, who helped West Coast producer Dr. Dre land one of Mary J. Blige’s biggest hits, “Family Affair,” says Diddy tried to ruin his career in spite of his efforts. He claims that his pay rose from a meager $30,000 to $125,000 between 1992 and 1997, which is far less than what was promised to him in light of Bad Boy’s success. Additionally, he claims that Diddy and his mother have consistently broken financial agreements, including a 2019 pledge to “make things right” at Diana Ross’s birthday party.

Burrowes claims to have put $100,000 into Bad Boy Entertainment when it first started, and he is now requesting a forensic investigation of the label’s finances, compensation for lost earnings, and the return of his ownership interest. Burrowes claims he was one again duped and not compensated for his work, even though he sent historical documents and even elements for a 2021 documentary on Bad Boy Entertainment. The lawsuit argues that Diddy and his mother continued to profit from his hard work while he lingered in financial misery.

“We are confident that the legal process will hold those responsible accountable and ensure that justice prevails,” Tyrone Blackburn, Burrowes’ lawyer, told DM. Additionally, Burrowes sent Diddy’s mother a direct message. “Janice Smalls, I thought Sean had talent, and we began this as a family,” he said. “I too had a talent, and I succeeded. I protected your family, and you allowed yourself and your family to ruin mine. See you in court.”

Diddy is still being held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center pending trial on a number of allegations, including sex trafficking, racketeering, and prostitution transportation, at the time of this most recent lawsuit. Since his arrest in September 2024, the “Gotta Move On” rapper has been denied bail on multiple occasions.