Diddy is proving he’s got a no-quit attitude, as he takes his DeLeón Tequila door-to-door, despite the end of his joint venture with the UK liquor brand Diageo.
“I grew up as a paper boy. That means I would go door to door. So that’s the only way I know how to hustle. I’m going to make DeLeón Tequila number one,” Diddy says in a new promo video shared to his Instagram on Friday (June 30), backed by a visual shot in Harlem, New York, where the rapper can be seen pushing product at local establishments at the break of dawn.
“Because I’m going to get up every morning at six in the morning and I’m gonna go door to door. And, I’m not going to let nothing or nobody stop me. And neither should you. Let’s go,” he continues, noting his determination to make his mark with his signature tequila.
Later in the clip, Diddy (real name Sean Combs) is seen rallying a group of patrons, toast in hand. “I come from New York and I stand behind my product,” declares Puff. “I was a paper boy. I would go door to door with my hustle. That’s what I’m out here doing. I’m selling a product I believe in. Thank ya’ll for the support. I love ya’ll.”
“Let nothing or nobody stop you. #WheresDeLeon #ad,” he captioned the clip, which you can check out below.
According to The Associated Press, the spirits giant’s partnership with the Bad Boy Records founder came to a screeching halt after the Harlem-bred mogul filed a lawsuit against the company back in May. In the suit, Diddy claimed that Diageo was “racist” in its handling of his liquor brands: Cîroc vodka and DeLeón tequila.
The suit also alleges Diageo’s North America division “starved Combs’ Cîroc vodka and DeLeón tequila brands of resources” while carefully tending to other celebrity concoctions.
Diageo owns more than 200 different liquor brands, including Don Julio tequila and actor George Clooney’s Casamigos tequila.
“Cloaking itself in the language of diversity and equality is good for Diageo’s business, but it is a lie,” reads the complaint filed on behalf of Combs Wines and Spirits LLC.
Diageo has since denied the No Way Out rapper and producer’s claims and filed a motion of its own, requesting to dismiss Combs’ complaint, dubbing to the allegations “false and reckless.”
Combs’ relationship with Diageo dates to 2007, when the London-based company approached him about Cîroc. The liquor company also claimed that Combs has acquired “nearly $1billion” throughout their 15-year relationship.
Diageo also accused the Bad Boy founder of not acting like an “equal partner” and refusing to provide adequate funding to help DeLeón grow. Further, the company stated that outside of a $1,000 contribution from Combs, Diageo “provided 100% of the funding” for the joint venture — nearly investing more than $100million.
“Mr. Combs’ bad-faith actions have clearly breached his contracts and left us no choice but to move to dismiss his baseless complaint and end our business relationship,” Diageo said in a statement Tuesday (June 27). “We have exhausted every reasonable remedy and see no other path forward.”