Diddy sends cease-and-desist letter to Netflix over 'stolen' footage in docuseries
WASHINGTON (TNND) — Embattled music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs's lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to Netflix demanding it not release the docuseries produced by his longtime rival Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson on the eve of its premiere.
Juda Engelmayer, Combs' spokesperson, told CNN that footage in "Sean Combs: The Reckoning" used "stolen footage that was never authorized for release," while calling it "a shameful hit piece."
In Netflix's official trailer, video shows Combs chronicling his life before his September 2024 arrest.
“We need to find someone who will work with us who has worked in the dirtiest of dirty businesses,” Combs can be heard saying. “We are losing.”
Engelmayer explained that Combs had been filming himself since he was 19 years old for an eventual documentary. "This footage was commissioned as part of it," he told CNN.
Combs was sentenced in October to four years in prison and fined half a million dollars after a jury delivered a mixed verdict in the federal "freak-off" trial. He was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and acquitted of the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.
The director of the docuseries, Alexandra Stapleton, insisted in a statement that the filmmaking team obtained the footage legally.
“It came to us, We obtained the footage legally and have the necessary rights,” Stapleton said in the statement forwarded to CNN from Netflix. “We moved heaven and earth to keep the filmmaker’s identity confidential. 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.”
However, Combs' team threatened to take further legal action, writing, “As you are undoubtedly aware, Mr. Combs has not hesitated to take legal action against media entities and others who violate his rights, and he will not hesitate to do so against Netflix.”
In late October, Combs was transferred to Fort Dix from Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, where he had been held since his arrest.
His team is appealing his conviction and sentence.
The White House shut down rumors and called it "fake news" that President Donald Trump was considering commuting Combs' 50-month prison sentence.
He's already served 13 months and prison, and since he gets credit for time served, "Diddy" could be released from prison in two years.
