Rapper Diddy Claims Warner Bros Banned His Incredible Joker Costume

Rapper Sean Combs a.k.a. Diddy claims that his Halloween costume, a stunningly accurate The Dark Knight Joker cosplay, earned him a cease and desist letter from DC parent company Warner Bros. Among the thousands of characters in DC Comics and DC movies throughout the years, Batman and the Joker are especially popular costumes on Halloween. Not only are both characters two of DC’s most famous icons, but their multiple appearances on various live-action Batman adaptations have provided inspiration for creative cosplayers. Heath Ledger’s Joker portrayal in The Dark Knight, in particular, is a Halloween staple by this point.

Surprisingly, some fans’ cosplay skills are so good that they put them in trouble. On October 31st, 2023, Rapper Diddy posted a video on Instagram, claiming to have received “a bunch of emails from the studio” requiring him to stop cosplaying the Joker because he was “breaching the trademark”. Diddy complied, but also teased his new costume for Halloween 2023. Watch the video below:

On November 1st, Diddy posted a new video on his Instagram. In it, he’s cosplaying Christian Bale’s Batman from Christopher Nolan‘s Dark Knight trilogy, recreating certain shots and scenes from the movies. Diddy’s Batman is shown infiltrating a film studio executive’s office and pressuring him into ending the ongoing actors’ strike. Watch Diddy’s Batman video below:

DC Fans React To Diddy’s Perfect Joker Costume For Halloween

Reactions on social media were quick to praise Diddy’s Halloween costumes. Many X users also criticized Warner Bros. for sending Diddy cease and desist letters, and others wondered how a company can attempt to legally stop someone from dressing up as a fictional character as famous as Heath Ledger’s widely-acclaimed Joker. Meanwhile, some users have shed some light into the justification for Warner Bros.’ decision. See the reactions below:

It’s true that costumes don’t infringe any specific law by themselves. In fact, many cosplayers make a career out of their passion, and countless creative costumes draw inspiration from popular media every year on Halloween. Whether the costumes and accessories are homemade, commissioned, or bought from a licensed provider, companies cannot legally stop someone from wearing them. However, Diddy’s Joker costume from Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy didn’t get Warner Bros.’ attention because of its accuracy, but because one specific element from his video allowed the company to intervene.

In Diddy’s Joker video, he appears shooting fire from a flamethrower onto a logo of his own tequila brand, DeLeón. He holds a bottle in certain shots as well. Hence, Warner Bros. likely had no issue with Diddy’s Joker costume, but with his use of a DC Comics character while promoting his own trademark without explicit permission. Registered characters and their likenesses can only be used to promote a service or a product with official permission from the company that owns them. Otherwise, advertisements would be flooded with branded characters, and the owners wouldn’t be able to control whatever the characters are promoting, even if it were misleading or harmful.

Diddy’s 2023 Halloween costume takes a friendly dig at Warner Bros.’ cease and desist letters. While the rapper once again cosplays a DC character in a video that’s clearly inspired by a Warner Bros. movie, he doesn’t include any personal brand or product in it. There’s no direct way his trademarks can profit from his social media post. So, like all fans who record themselves wearing their costume on Halloween, Diddy is legally allowed to post his video on social media freely.

Although Diddy’s Joker costume earned him a cease and desist letter from Warner Bros., his Halloween costumes have been better received than those of other rappers. In Halloween 2020, Travis Scott temporarily locked his Instagram account not because of legal action, but because of the negative reaction his Batman costume received from social media. Unlike Scott, Diddy‘s Batman and Joker DC costumes have been praised for their quality, high production value, and accuracy to the Dark Knight trilogy’s original designs.