Diddy's Dirty Discrimination Suit

Whatever you call him, Sean "Diddy" Combs isn't hip with the over-50 set. One of his employees at Bad Boy Records is suing the multi-named mogul for $12 million, citing age discrimination. Fifty-one-year-old Francesca Spero claims that Diddy, for whom she's worked more than 12 years, froze her out of the company when she needed hip surgery in 2008. She was allegedly fired in March of this year and replaced with a woman who she claims is underqualified - and 10-15 years younger than her. Spero met Diddy in 1988 and she joined up in the "Puff Daddy" days of the late 1990s when she helped launch a $38 million deal with Warner Brothers, plus helped produce his series, Making the Band. "Francesca Spero opened the door for Combs' career and, now that she's 51, he showed her the door at Bad Boy," her attorney, Laurie Berke-Weiss, told NBC New York. The suit says Diddy fired her when she could no longer "keep up with his fast-paced lifestyle." But Diddy may not be the bad boy he's made out to be - Spero checked into rehab post-hip surgery for an addiction to painkillers and alcohol, a problem she kicked once before in the '80s. Diddy's camp says, "There are many reasons why Ms. Spero is no longer employed by Bad Boy, but age discrimination is not one of them." Sounds like she's going to need plenty of proof of discrimination to get her hands on Diddy's dirty money.