Kirk Burrowes, the former Bad Boy exec who was allegedly strong armed into selling his shares of the company, and (according to Diddy's former bodyguard) Gene Deal revealed in a 2024 interview that Burrowes witnessed Diddy physically abusing his mother, is suing Janice.
via: Daily Mail
Sean 'Diddy' Combs used a baseball bat to coerce his former righthand man and co-founder of his record label into signing over his shares of the company in an alleged scheme to give his mother total ownership, according to a shocking new lawsuit.
Bad Boy Entertainment co-founder and ex-president Kirk Burrowes, 62, claims he was forced to give up his 25 percent stake in the label to Diddy during a violent confrontation in 1996, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The music mogul, 55, allegedly subsequently transferred the shares to his mother Janice Smalls, 84, who had co-founded BBE with Burrowes four years earlier.
In new legal filings obtained by DailyMail.com, the ousted music executive, who had also served as the company's chief operating officer and general manager, says he's homeless and has had to endure 'prolonged periods of living in shelters across New York City' due to the 'immense' financial hardship as a result.
Burrowes is now suing Smalls, the label's majority stakeholder and who he alleges 'engaged in a decades-long scheme of intimidation, violence, fraudulent misrepresentation, and financial concealment.'
According to the lawsuit, the altercation took place in May 1996 when Diddy, wielding a baseball bat, entered Burrowes's New York City office with BBE attorney Kenneth Meiselas.
'By words and actions, Sean Combs and Kenneth Meiselas frightened and intimidated and assaulted plaintiff (Burrowes) and forced him to turn over his share certificate for 25 shares of Bad Boy Entertainment to Sean Combs,' the lawsuit filed in federal court in New York Wednesday states.
'Plaintiff, fearing for his life, with tears streaming down his face clearly unable to resist under the circumstances, involuntarily signed the documents.'
Smalls was not in the office the day of the alleged assault, which the filing notes was unusual.
When Burrowes contacted Smalls after the incident 'seeking guidance', she 'pretended she was unaware' of what Combs and Meiselas had allegedly done, the papers state.
Though Smalls wasn't physically present at the time of the altercation, Burrowes claims Diddy and Meiselas 'were acting under [her] direction'...'to orchestrate the fraudulent involuntary transfer'.
The lawsuit goes on to claim that the 'Defendants not only defrauded [Burrowes] of his rightful stake in BBE but also systematically sabotaged his career.'
'They blacklisted him from the music industry, blocked business opportunities, and destroyed his professional reputation, ensuring he would remain financially destitute and unable to reclaim what was rightfully his,' the documents state.
Burrowes says he is owed millions in lost profits, claiming he invested $100,000 of his own money when Bad Boy Entertainment first launched.
He's seeking damages for financial losses, reinstatement of his 25 percent ownership stake, his 15 percent annual share including interest, and a forensic audit of Bad Boy Entertainment's earnings and profits from its inception to the present.
The explosive lawsuit adds to the mounting legal woes Diddy faces as he awaits trial on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation for prostitution, behind bars at the grim Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The disgraced rapper-producer has repeatedly been denied bail since he was arrested and taken into custody in September.
Burrowes developed a close personal and business relationship with Combs' family after the two met in the early 1990s, according to the filing.
By then, Burrowes was known as a 'distinguished professional in the music and entertainment industry with decades of experience.'
'Recognizing Plaintiff's strategic mind and industry expertise, Sean Combs entrusted him with key operational and managerial responsibilities, leading Plaintiff to co-found BBE and establish its foundational business framework,' the papers state.
The suit also notes that Burrowes is the godfather of Diddy's first child, Justin Combs, now 31, and attended his christening at a church in Harlem, 'underscoring the deep bond and reliance between the families.'
In 1992, when Combs was fired by Uptown Records founder Andre Harrell, Burrowes claims to have helped him rise out of a deep depression during which he was allegedly plagued by suicidal thoughts.
In an interview with Billboard in 1997, Diddy spoke of Burrowes's impactful role in the company saying: 'Kirk is the one responsible for Bad Boy's success and making it the professional, young, black-run company that it has become.'
Burrowes claims he became a trusted advisor for Janice Smalls, managing her personal and professional affairs, and claims she confided in him about her son and sought out his protection when Combs allegedly abused her.
He says he allegedly witnessed Combs's 'volatile and abusive behavior', including an incident where he physically assaulted his mother. He claims he observed Combs 'aggressively overpowering' Smalls and calling her 'derogatory slurs.'
Burrowes told DailyMail.com that following the alleged assault, 'She then, in my eyes, was a mother doing her best, and she wanted to calm him down.'
He added: 'I was caught off guard by the mother title and the sweet mother persona that she gave, and the strength of her trying to help a son who's in a very difficult situation.
'And at that time, I was 1,000% into in helping Sean and making sure that he'd get over this. Today, I have a different view of it.'
Representatives for Smalls and Combs did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
Burrowes, who also managed legendary R&B star Mary J. Blige while working at Bad Boy Entertainment, claimed Combs 'obstructed' his management contract with the singer.
'Combs engaged in fraudulent financial schemes, inflating Mary J. Blige's expense accounts by charging unauthorized expenses, fabricated service fees, and luxury purchases under false pretense,' the filing states.
He also mentions Diddy's apparent fixation with legendary rapper Tupac Shakur, claiming Combs was 'obsessed' with him and would attempt to mimic his style.
He claims Combs would charge items of brands Shakur wore, such as Versace silk shirts, and expensive accessories to Blige's artist account and mislabel the charges.
In addition to designer clothing, Burrowes claims Combs would fraudulently charge the cost of private jets, gifts and luxury vacations to other artist accounts at the label.
After taking over Blige's management, Burrowes claims he helped the singer stave off bankruptcy and climb out of financial ruin.
One of Blige's biggest hits, Family Affair, was a track Burrowes negotiated and procured from West Coast hip-hop mogul Dr. Dre.
DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Blige for comment.
Burrowes says that when he first started out at the company in June 1992, he worked for free, but his salary rose from $30,000 in 1993 – an amount he claims was low given how profitable Bad Boy was – to $60,000 in 1994 and later $125,000 in 1997.
He says he was also contracted to receive 15 percent of the overall profits while at the label.
He claims he declined job offers from other record labels based on promises of financial compensation from Combs and Smalls he alleges were never kept.
At Diana Ross's birthday celebration in 2019, he says Combs and Smalls told him they planned to 'make things right [financially]' but never did.
He says in the suit that despite being a driving force behind Bad Boy Entertainment, he was frequently undermined and manipulated by Diddy and his mother, who 'continued to reap the financial benefits of Plaintiff's hard-earned contributions while Plaintiff languished in destitution.'
The former music executive says he has proof of his allegations in the form of more than 1,000 pages of daily journals from his time working with Combs.
He says Combs's mother has repeatedly denied having knowledge of his stolen shares and unpaid earnings and even reached out to him in 2021 asking for his help for a documentary about the history of Bad Boy Entertainment.
He says he agreed to provide records, photos, and other materials in return the suit alleges Janice agreed to reimburse him for his 25 percent ownership stake and 15 percent earnings, but she allegedly refused to pay him even after he provided materials for the documentary, leaving him feeling further exploited and betrayed.
Burrowes' attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, told DailyMail.com his client is not asking for anything more than what he rightfully earned.
'We are confident that the legal process will hold those responsible accountable and ensure that justice prevails,' he said.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, Burrowes also issued a message to Combs's mother: 'Janice Smalls, we started this out as a family unit, and I believed in Sean's talent. I had a talent too, and I delivered... I looked out for your family, and you let them, as well as yourself, destroy mine. See you in court.'
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