Lawyers for Sean "Diddy" Combs have issued a cease-and-desist letter to Netflix, accusing the streaming service of using footage that was stolen for 50 Cent's highly anticipated new docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning.
In the letter, Combs’ attorney, Michael Tremont, argues that Netflix was in violation of contractual agreements after it had originally met with Combs in 2023 to create his own documentary. He accuses the streamer of then taking the footage and turning it over to his longtime nemesis, 50 Cent (real name Curtis Jackson), to use in the series he was producing about the shamed music mogul.
Billed as featuring "explosive, never-before-seen materials," Tremont claimed the doc used "stolen footage that was never authorized for release" that included “privileged communications” between Mr. Combs and his legal team.
In a statement issued to Variety, the docuseries director Alexandria Stapleton said, “It came to us, we obtained the footage legally and have the necessary rights. We moved heaven and earth to keep the filmmaker’s identity confidential. One thing about Sean Combs is that he’s always filming himself, and it’s been an obsession throughout the decades. We also reached out to Sean Combs’ legal team for an interview and comment multiple times, but did not hear back.”
Described by Tremont as "a shameful hit piece," Sean Combs: The Reckoning is now available to stream on Netflix.
In its review, The Guardian wrote the doc "feels like the point of no return for the rapper and mogul. It’s so thorough in its harrowing detail that it will surely block any chance he ever had of a return to stardom."
Read Tremont's full letter below.
Netflix’s so-called ‘documentary’ is a shameful hit piece. Today’s GMA teaser confirms that Netflix relied on stolen footage that was never authorized for release. As Netflix and CEO Ted Sarandos know, Mr. Combs has been amassing footage since he was 19 to tell his own story, in his own way. It is fundamentally unfair, and illegal, for Netflix to misappropriate that work.
Netflix is plainly desperate to sensationalize every minute of Mr. Combs’s life, without regard for truth, in order to capitalize on a never-ending media frenzy. If Netflix cared about truth or about Mr. Combs’s legal rights, it would not be ripping private footage out of context – including conversations with his lawyers that were never intended for public viewing. No rights in that material were ever transferred to Netflix or any third party.
It is equally staggering that Netflix handed creative control to Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson – a longtime adversary with a personal vendetta who has spent too much time slandering Mr. Combs.
Beyond the legal issues, this is a personal breach of trust. Mr. Combs has long respected Ted Sarandos and admired the legacy of Clarence Avant. For Netflix to give his life story to someone who has publicly attacked him for decades feels like an unnecessary and deeply personal affront. At minimum, he expected fairness from people he respected.