Before the premiere of the new Netflix docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning, Diddy’s legal team slammed the fellow rapper for using “stolen” footage.
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According to CNN, the disgraced rap mogul’s legal team sent a cease-and-desist letter to Netflix. The team demanded that the streaming service giant not release the docuseries.
A spokesperson also confirmed that Combs has accused Netflix of using “stolen footage that was never authorized for release.”
They also called Netflix’s docuseries a “shameful hit piece.”
The footage is shown in the docuseries’ official trailer. It shows Combs declaring, “We need to find someone who will work with us, who has worked in the direst of dirty business. We are losing.”
Diddy’s spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, further stated that the rap mogul has been filming himself for decades. This was in an effort to chronicle his life for an eventual documentary. They noted that the footage obtained by Netflix was part of the documentary efforts.
“Sean was making his own documentary since he was 19 years old. This footage was commissioned as part of it,” Engelmayer stated through an email to CNN.
The Diddy Docuseries Director Stated the Footage Was Legally Obtained
Meanwhile, docuseries director Alexandra Stapleton said the filmmaking team obtained the footage legally.
“It came to us. We obtained the footage legally and have the necessary rights,” Stapleton confirmed. “We moved heaven and earth to keep the filmmaker’s identity confidential.”
The filmmaker further shared, “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.”
In the cease-and-desist letter to Netflix, Combs’ legal team threatened to take legal action. “As you are undoubtedly aware, Mr. Combs has not hesitated to take legal action against media entities and others who violate his rights,” the statement reads. “And he will not hesitate to do so against Netflix.”
Diddy previously filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against NBCUniversal for the Peacock documentary Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.
The rap mogul is in prison after being convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He is also facing approximately 70 civil lawsuits from dozens of accusers claiming he sexually assaulted them.
Diddy has denied all allegations, and some of the cases have been dismissed.
Sean Combs: The Reckoning has been released. It was produced by fellow rapper and longtime foe of Combs, 50 Cent.