More is beginning to surface regarding “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” a four-part documentary chronicling Sean “Diddy” Combs’ rise as a hip-hop mogul and his final days as a free man before he’s arrested and later tried on RICO and sex trafficking charges.
At the center of the questions about the documentary is unseen footage of Diddy discussing his case with his lawyers and plotting a strategy for how he will defend himself in the court of public opinion. New reporting reveals how Netflix and filmmakers obtained the footage.
According to Atlanta Black Star, Diddy hired filmmakers to document his final days in New York. However, when the mogul failed to pay them for their work or sign a contract, the footage ended up in the hands of Netflix and the film’s director, Alexandria Stapleton.
In an interview with Netflix’s internal publication Tudum, Stapleton discussed how she and her team came about the footage.
“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,” Stapleton said. 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.”
Combs’ legal team has publicly slammed the documentary as a “hit piece” and sent Netflix a “cease-and-desist” letter regarding its release. The camp also alleged that executive producer 50 Cent has a vendetta against their client. When asked by GQ if he had any personal agenda for the documentary, 50 brushed it off.
“If it was, I would’ve focused on the fact that you’re the only man in jail for transporting male sex workers.”
The documentary has caused issues for those close to Combs. Misa Hylton, the celebrity stylist who shares a child with Diddy, posted and later deleted a series of screenshots hinting at her own television series. However, Hylton has fired back at Gene Deal, a former bodyguard of Diddy’s, who helped spread speculation that Justin Combs was not Diddy’s son.
“The harassment my son and I have been dealing with because of things implied by Gene Deal and stated in a recent Netflix documentary has been heartbreaking,” Hylton wrote. “The truth is: the public is being misled about me and my child.”
She continued, “We’ve been dragged into something we never asked for … a cruel game built on rumors and agendas. Please take a moment before believing everything you hear.”
“Sean Combs: The Reckoning” is now available on Netflix.
