Diddy hits out at ‘shameful’ and ‘illegal’ documentary

Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs have lashed out at a new Netflix documentary they say is a “shameful hit piece” by rapper 50 Cent that is “based on stolen footage.”

The four-part documentary, titled Sean Combs: The Reckoning, was released Tuesday and is billed as a “shocking examination” of the hip-hop mogul who was convicted of prostitution-related charges earlier this year.

These include footage of Combs, which Netflix described as “explosive”, taken in the days before his arrest and his phone conversation with his lawyers.

The director said he obtained the footage legally, but Combs’ spokesman said using the private footage was “fundamentally unfair and illegal.”

‘Personal revenge’

He also said it was “surprising” that Netflix would give creative control to 50 Cent, whom he described as a “long-time enemy with a personal vendetta.”

“Netflix is ​​clearly desperate to sensationalize every minute of Mr. Combs’ life, with complete disregard for the truth, in order to capitalize on the never-ending media frenzy,” the statement said.

“If Netflix cared about the truth or Mr. Combs’ legal rights, it would not have taken private footage out of context, including conversations he had with his lawyers that were never intended for public viewing. No rights in this material are transferred to Netflix or any third party.”

The statement said: “For Netflix to tell his life story to someone who has publicly attacked him for decades feels like an unnecessary and deeply personal insult. At the very least, he expected justice from the people he respected.”

The documentary opens with Combs speaking to attorney Marc Agnifilo on the phone from a hotel room six days before his arrest in September 2024, telling him he wants to “fight for my life.”

Pressuring Agnifilo to pursue a more open media strategy to protest his innocence, Combs told him: “We have to find someone to work with us. It has to be someone who has been involved in the dirtiest, dirtiest, dirtiest jobs in the world. [the] Media and propaganda.”

At another point, viewers see Combs talking to his son Justin on the phone five days before his arrest. “God told me not to do anything… [but] other people need to do something because this is ridiculous,” he said in the clip.

Combs’ spokesman said the documentary contained footage “that was never authorized for release.”

“As Netflix and CEO Ted Sarandos know, Mr. Combs has been accumulating footage since the age of 19 to tell his own story in his own way. Netflix’s misuse of this work is fundamentally unfair and illegal.”

Netflix did not respond to a request for response but pointed the finger at US media Comments published by Alexandria Stapleton, the director of the documentary.

“It came to us, we obtained the footage legally and we have the necessary rights,” he said. “We moved heaven and earth to keep the filmmaker’s identity secret.”

The documentary is executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, whose long-running feud with Combs dates back two decades.

jackson He told ABC News’ Good Morning America On Monday: “If I hadn’t said anything, you would have interpreted it as hip-hop being okay with their behavior. There’s no one else speaking out.”

The documentary chronicles Combs’ career as one of hip-hop’s most powerful men and includes allegations that he was involved in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.

It includes tapes of a police interview in which former gang member Duane “Keffe D” Davis claims Combs offered him $1 million (£769,000) to kill Shakur.

Mr. Davis is due to go to trial for Shakur’s murder in 2026. He now says the offer deal with police, in which he agreed to tell what he knew but could not be used against him in court, was made under duress, according to Netflix.

The program also features Kirk Burrowes, who co-founded Bad Boy Entertainment with Combs and claims that he believes Combs “had a lot to do with Tupac’s death.”

Combs has always denied any involvement in Shakur’s death.

The documentary also includes other allegations of violence and threats, many of which were previously made public in dozens of lawsuits, including allegations of harassment against his ex-girlfriend Cassie that resulted in a settlement.

Combs has previously dismissed the complaints as “disgusting” and “full of lies.”

“Anyone can file a lawsuit,” his lawyers said in a press release earlier this year, adding: “No amount of lawsuits will change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone, male or female, adult or minor.”

The documentary also includes interviews with two jurors in Combs’ trial.

In July, he was convicted on two charges of providing transportation for prostitution, but was found not guilty of the most serious charges – racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking of two ex-girlfriends.

He is currently serving a 50-month prison sentence and has said he will appeal.