Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs claims Netflix used ‘stolen footage’ in new doco produced by his rap rival 50 Cent
A furious Sean “Diddy” Combs claims his own secretly filmed footage has been “stolen” and used against him in a damning new Netflix documentary.
A furious Sean “Diddy” Combs has slammed 50 Cent for allegedly using “stolen footage” in his damning and unauthorised new documentary, Sean Combs: The Reckoning.
The disgraced media mogul calls the new Netflix doco “a shameful hit piece” from his longtime rival 50 Cent, who is an executive producer on the four-part series.
As per the Netflix synopsis, the docu-series is “a staggering examination of the media mogul, music legend and convicted offender”, who is currently serving a four-year prison sentence for his conviction on federal prostitution charges.
And one particular scene in the trailer, which dropped today ahead of the doco’s December 2 premiere this evening, has Diddy and his team outraged.
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In the “stolen footage” filmed six days before his September 2024 arrest, Diddy could be seen fuming inside a hotel room as he appears to talk to his legal team.
“We need to find someone who will work with us, who has worked in the dirtiest of dirty businesses. We are losing,” a panicked Diddy could be heard saying.
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A voiceover then lists all the name changes the rapper has undergone throughout his career, calling them “reincarnations”.
“Puffy, Puff Daddy, Diddy, Sean Combs. All these reincarnations, all those name changes, are attached to really bad deeds,” the voice is heard on the doco, which promises to air never-before-seen material, including interviews with those once inside Diddy’s inner circle.
A montage featuring Diddy’s houses being raided by the FBI and an abusive hotel room altercation with then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura then flashes on screen as Diddy’s own voice could be heard saying, “Everything in life you are going to have people that are bad and people that are good. You have to choose your side.”
A rep for Diddy has hit back on behalf of the jailed star, who claims that Netflix is using his words out of context.
The rep revealed that Diddy has had cameras following him around for years in hopes to use the footage for his own documentary one day. But the rep claims that Netflix has somehow obtained the footage and are now using it against the rapper.
“Mr Combs has been amassing footage since he was 19 to tell his own story, in his own way,” his rep said in a statement to Variety. “It is fundamentally unfair, and illegal, for Netflix to misappropriate that work.”
“Netflix is plainly desperate to sensationalise every minute of Mr. Combs’s life, without regard for truth, in order to capitalise on a never-ending media frenzy,” the statement continued. “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.”
The rep said that no rights to the material captured by Diddy’s cameramen “were ever transferred to Netflix or any third party”.
Diddy and his team are also livid that Netflix gave the reins to 50 Cent, who has been a longtime nemesis of Diddy’s.
“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,” the rep continued.
“Beyond the legal issues, this is a personal breach of trust. Mr Combs has long respected [Netflix boss] Ted Sarandos and admired the legacy of [music executive] 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.”
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Originally published as Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs claims Netflix used ‘stolen footage’ in new doco produced by his rap rival 50 Cent
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