Camilla Jessen
Hours before release, Diddy demands Netflix pull new documentary.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has launched a last-minute legal effort to block Netflix from releasing Sean Combs: The Reckoning, a four-part documentary produced by longtime rival Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
The series is scheduled to premiere on December 2.
Hours before its release, Combs’ team issued a cease-and-desist letter accusing Netflix of using illegally obtained material.
Escalating dispute
The documentary promises what producers describe as “a staggering examination of the media mogul, music legend and convicted offender,” featuring previously unseen footage of Combs and his inner circle.
Diddy, currently serving a four-year prison sentence on prostitution-related charges, calls the series a “shameful hit piece.”
Through a spokesperson, he alleged that Netflix used “private moments, pre-indictment material from an unfinished project and conversations involving legal strategy.”
He claims the footage had been “stolen” and never authorized for release.
“Today’s GMA teaser confirms that Netflix relied on stolen footage,” the statement said, accusing the platform of misappropriating work Combs had collected “since he was 19 to tell his own story.”
Conflicting accounts
Despite Combs’ accusations, 50 Cent and director Alex Stapleton told The Hollywood Reporter that “the footage was obtained completely legally,” though they did not explain how it was secured.
Diddy also criticized Netflix for allowing Jackson to lead the project, arguing that their decades-long feud created a “personal vendetta.”
The two artists have clashed publicly since the mid-2000s, including through diss tracks and long-running social-media disputes.
50 Cent rejected any suggestion of bias.
“It’s not personal,” he told ABC News. “If I didn’t say anything, you would interpret it as hip-hop is fine with his behaviors.”
Purpose of the documentary
Stapleton said the project is intended to reflect on celebrity culture and the public’s tendency to elevate powerful figures without scrutiny.
The series, she said, serves as “a mirror” and a “wake-up call for how we idolize people.”
Her remarks come after a volatile year for Combs.
Over the summer, he was convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, involving his girlfriend and males. He was acquitted of separate sex-trafficking and racketeering charges that carried a potential life sentence.
Netflix has not indicated it plans to delay the show.
Unless a court intervenes, Sean Combs: The Reckoning will begin streaming worldwide on Dec. 2.
Sources: ABC News; The Hollywood Reporter, Unilad
