Sean “Diddy” Combs has escalated his battle with Netflix, its CEO Ted Sarandos and executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, issuing a blistering cease-and-desist letter demanding the immediate withdrawal of the streamer’s docuseries “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” which he called “corporate retribution.”
The letter, sent by Combs’ legal team, accuses Netflix of promoting a “hit piece” disguised as a documentary, enabling a “personal vendetta” against Combs and unlawfully possessing video footage allegedly stolen from Combs and his affiliates. It also warns that a lawsuit against Netflix and 50 Cent could be imminent.
The cease-and-desist, addressed to Netflix legal executive David Hyman, lays out a sweeping series of allegations, arguing that Netflix’s promotional framing of the project as a documentary is “fundamentally misleading.” According to the letter, the program “is a hit piece,” conceived and spearheaded not by impartial filmmakers but by Jackson, who is described as someone whose “irrational fixation on destroying Mr. Combs’s reputation is a matter of public record.”
“In or about 2023, CEO Ted Sarandos proposed that Netflix produce a documentary about Mr. Combs,” the dense four-page correspondence continues.
“However, Mr. Combs rejected the proposal when Mr. Sarandos insisted he give up creative control,” the letter, obtained by Deadline, reads. “Thus, the choice of Mr. Jackson to produce the Program was Netflix’s vindictive response to that rejection—an attempt by Netflix and Mr. Sarandos to ensure a one-sided character assassination, rather than a balanced and accurate portrayal.”
Because of Jackson’s alleged hostility, Combs’ lawyers argue he is unfit to produce an objective account of Combs’ life. “Simply put, there is no one less able to view any aspect of Mr. Combs’s life and legacy through a fair and objective lens,” the letter states.
The letter also claims Netflix possesses video recordings that belong exclusively to Combs or his entities, obtained in violation of contracts, privacy laws and copyright protections. These recordings allegedly include “confidential and proprietary content,” including privileged communications with Combs’ legal counsel. Combs’ team asserts that distributing this footage would violate the Copyright Act and contractual agreements.
The cease-and-desist demands that Netflix immediately withdraw the program, verify the truth of all statements, investigate whether it possesses unlawfully obtained media, return such materials and cease all dissemination. Combs and his affiliates “reserve all of their rights, claims and remedies,” warning that Combs “has not hesitated to take legal action against media entities.” Netflix is also instructed to preserve all related documents.
In response to the letter, a Netflix spokesperson tells TheWrap, “The claims being made about ‘Sean Combs: The Reckoning’ are false. The project has no ties to any past conversations between Sean Combs and Netflix. The footage of Combs leading up to his indictment and arrest were legally obtained. This is not a hit piece or an act of retribution. Curtis Jackson is an executive producer but does not have creative control. No one was paid to participate.”
Diddy’s reps have not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment.
