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WARNING: This story contains allegations of sexual violence and may affect those who have experienced it or know someone affected by it.
Netflix has released a four-part docuseries about the criminal investigation and conviction of Sean (Diddy) Combs, despite the music mogul’s lawyers accusing Netflix of using “stolen footage that was never authorized for release.”
The series, Sean Combs: The Reckoning, debuted on the streaming service on Tuesday morning. Among other archival scenes, it uses footage shot with Combs’ knowledge in the six days leading up to his 2024 indictment. In the documentary, Combs is seen speaking with lawyers, his staff and other members of his team, trying to mitigate the fallout of the investigation against him.
“We have to find somebody that will work with us, whether they from this country or from another country,” Combs can be heard saying to his lawyer on the phone. “It could be somebody that has dealt in the dirtiest of dirtiest — [the] dirty business of media and propaganda.”
In a statement provided to CBC News, a representative for Combs called the series a “shameful hit piece” that incorporates footage Netflix was not authorized to use. Noting that Combs has amassed footage of his life and career since 19 in order to tell his own story, they described it as “fundamentally unfair, and illegal” for Netflix to have aired it.
They also took issue with the film’s producer, entrepreneur and musician Curtis (50 Cent) Jackson. Jackson and Combs have been engaged in a long-standing and highly publicized feud going back nearly two decades.
WATCH | Sean Combs: The Reckoning trailer:
In a statement, director Alexandria Stapleton said they acquired the footage “legally and have the necessary rights,” and said they attempted to reach Combs’s legal team for interview and comment but did not receive a response.
“One thing about Sean Combs is that he’s always filming himself, and it’s been an obsession throughout the decades,” Stapleton was quoted as saying.
The investigation into Combs largely stemmed from his so-called “freak off” sex parties, where prosecutors alleged some people were forced to participate against their will. Earlier this year, Combs was found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, and not guilty of two counts of sex trafficking and one count of conspiracy.
While the verdict included a four-year prison sentence for Combs, it was largely seen as a victory for him: the charges he was convicted of could have led to a maximum of life in prison, while the charges he was found not guilty of could have carried additional 15-year mandatory minimum sentences.
When the verdict was read out in court, Combs pumped his fist in a seeming show of relief, later celebrating with his family once the session was adjourned.
The ruling attracted considerable media attention at the time, including speculation — and criticism — around the relatively light sentence. Sean Combs: The Reckoning includes interviews with some of the jurors involved in the case, who explain both their reasoning and their experience judging the case. The jurors are only identified by their juror numbers in the docuseries.
That included discussions around Combs’s relationship with former girlfriend Cassandra (Cassie) Ventura, who sued Combs and testified against him in the trial, accusing him of abuse and rape. A key piece of evidence presented in the trial was security camera footage of Combs assaulting Ventura at an InterContinental hotel in Los Angeles in 2016.
Combs was not directly charged with assault in that altercation, the Los Angeles Attorney’s Office said at the time, because it fell outside the state’s statute of limitations. But when asked whether they believed Combs was a violent person, a juror did admit the video had an effect.
“Based on that InterContinental video, he can be,” the juror said, but pointed to the defence’s argument that it isn’t against the law to be a bad person, and that the video was not directly related to the charges at hand.
“You can say he’s a terrible person … but domestic violence wasn’t one of the charges.”
Another juror said he was “confused” by the nature of Ventura and Combs’s relationship, as he didn’t understand why Ventura did not leave Combs. And both jurors interviewed said they struggled to believe testimony from Combs’s former assistant Capricorn Clark, who alleged Combs kidnapped her at gunpoint.
Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
