Netflix’s four-part documentary series “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, has caused a stir online since the poster was first released last week. However, even with all the chatter, Sean “Diddy” Combs was the only person who still hadn’t responded— until now, and he has a lot to say.
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As we’ve previously reported, the “Candy Shop” rapper has been teasing this four-part documentary series since May of last year, and its release immediately ignited controversy. Critics online felt the project wasn’t quite a documentary, but instead an opportunity for 50 Cent to openly mock Diddy in yet another dig in their decades-long beef.
Not only did Combs fire back at Netflix and 50 Cent, but according to CNN, Combs’ legal team sent a cease-and-desist letter to Netflix Monday in an attempt to have the project pulled from its streaming catalog. Despite their attempts to have the documentary series taken down, folks online have already pressed play and are in shock with the new information coming out from the four-episode series.
We reported yesterday how 50 Cent addressed these accusations in an interview with “Good Morning America.” The “In Da Club” artist claimed that the documentary has nothing to do with his personal beef with Combs, but is meant to shine a light on Combs’ wrongdoings. Now, the disgraced music mogul is firing back at the rapper and Netflix, saying the documentary is a “hit piece” against him.
Juda Engelmayer, a spokesman for Diddy, told TMZ that Netflix relied on stolen footage to create the documentary, which Diddy had been recording to “tell his own story, in his own way.” He added that the streaming company showed a disregard for Combs’ legal rights by using never-before-seen footage.
“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,” Engelmayer continued. “No rights in that material were ever transferred to Netflix or any third party.”
Engelmayer then told TMZ that Netflix is disrespectful for giving 50 Cent creative control over the documentary. It was a decision that the rapper found insulting since he respects Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos. He also noted how he was featured in the 2019 Netflix documentary “The Black Godfather” about the late-record executive Clarence Avant.
“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,” Engelmayer said.
Yet even though Engelmayer has claimed that Netflix did not have the rights to use the footage, the director of the documentary, Alexandria Stapleton, says differently. In an interview with Netflix publication Tudum, Stapleton stated they obtained the footage through legal means.
“It came to us, we obtained the footage legally, and have the necessary rights. One thing about Sean Combs is that he’s always filming himself, and it’s been an obsession throughout the decades.”
And while Combs and his team put up a fight to get the documentary takendown, folks online have already pressed play on Netflix and are in shock with the new information coming out from the four-episode series.
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