Janice Combs called a lawsuit accusing her of helping her son Diddy seize control of Bad Boy Records “ridiculous” and asked a judge to throw it out.
The hip-hop mogul’s 85-year-old mother has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by former Bad Boy executive Kirk Burrowes. Kirk Burrows claims he was forcibly stripped of his 25% stake in the label nearly three decades ago.
In court documents, Coombs’ legal team argued that the complaint had no merit, was outside the statute of limitations and lacked jurisdiction.
Burrowes claimed that in 1996 Diddy used threats and baseball bats to force him to give up his shares. He claimed Janice Combs played a role in the alleged scheme and helped her son gain full control of the company through coercion and fraud.
“He and Kenny Meiselas came to my office unexpectedly one day. They had planned it. Kenny had the briefcase with all the stocks in it and Diddy had the bat. It wasn’t like, I’m going to beat the crap out of you with a bat, but he had the bat and, man, we have to do this, this has to happen,” Burrows told The Art of Conversation.
“To be honest, I didn’t feel like I was going to be defeated in that office. My employees could pop out of the shadows in a minute. I was not threatened by him. I’m confused that I started this company from the ground up with you and now you’re telling me that one tangible thing that I have that you want to take back,” Burrows said.
Combs’ attorneys argue the case is a repeat of two previous lawsuits filed by Burrows, both of which were dismissed as untimely and without merit.
“This frivolous and indeed absurd case was triggered by [Janice Combs’] “Burrows’ son was the target of federal criminal prosecutions for sex trafficking, racketeering and prostitution, but he was acquitted,” said her attorney, Jonathan Davis. “Burrows’ attorneys participated in that criminal proceeding and are currently representing multiple individuals suing Mr. Coombs and others for alleged violations and misconduct.”
The lawsuit, filed in early 2025, seeks to recover Burrowes’ alleged ownership stake and unspecified damages. He also claimed he was blacklisted from the music industry after being kicked out of the Bad Boys band.
The court gave Burrowes until Aug. 29 to amend his complaint or contest the dismissal. He did neither, according to documents. His legal team later asked for an extension, but that was never granted.
Combs’ attorneys argued that Burrows’ silence spoke volumes about the strength of his case and said the court should permanently dismiss the lawsuit.
Davis said this marks Burrows’ third failed attempt to litigate the same issue. Burrows’ attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, also represents several plaintiffs in unrelated lawsuits against Diddy, including a sexual assault case filed last year.
The motion asks the court to dismiss the case with prejudice, which would prevent Burrows from re-living the claim.
The court has not yet ruled on the motion.
