Is Sean Combs suing 50 Cent? Update after The Reckoning lands on Netflix

At long last, Sean Combs: The Reckoning – 50 Cent’s documentary series on Diddy’s rise and fall – has landed on Netflix. But prior to its release, Combs allegedly tried to stall it, calling it a “shameful hit piece.”

Combs’ downfall escalated in late 2023 when he settled a high-profile sexual assault lawsuit brought by Cassie Ventura. More accusers quickly followed, filing lawsuits alleging sexual assault and abuse dating back to the 1990s and 2000s. The mounting claims triggered intense public scrutiny and federal investigations.

By March 2024, Homeland Security had raided several properties, and later that year he was charged with transportation to engage in prostitution, racketeering, and federal sex trafficking. He pled not guilty, was denied bail three times, and in 2025 was ultimately convicted of the transportation charge and sentenced to 50 months.

Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent, has been a vocal critic of Diddy for years, revealing Netflix had won the rights to a tell-all docu-series last May. Now that time has come, but Combs isn’t too happy. 

Is Sean Combs suing 50 Cent?

Netflix

No, Diddy isn’t suing 50 Cent. However, Combs’ legal team sent Netflix a cease-and-desist letter attempting to halt the release of The Reckoning, and warned that his legal team “will not hesitate” to pursue legal action if they believe his rights have been violated.

A cease-and-desist letter is a formal warning sent by a lawyer demanding that a person or company stop a specific action – in this case, releasing the true crime docu-series. It isn’t a lawsuit, but it signals that the sender may take legal action if their demands aren’t met.

In a statement provided to CNN, a spokesperson for Combs accused the streaming service of using “stolen footage that was never authorized for release” and described the title as a “shameful hit piece.”

The offending footage is shown in both the new docu-series and the trailer, and was captured in September 2024 at the Park Hyatt hotel in Manhattan while he was awaiting his arrest on sex-trafficking charges. 

“In September of 2024, Sean Combs had a videographer follow him while in New York City. During this time, Combs was under federal investigation,” text across the screen says. “The filmmakers obtained this footage after Sean Combs was arrested.”

In one clip, he’s seen speaking on the phone and strategizing, with his sons Justin and Christian Combs present. 

Combs’ spokesperson Juda Engelmayer told CNN that the footage used in The Reckoning was part of the rapper’s efforts to continuously film himself for years to chronicle his life for his own documentary. 

“Sean was making his own documentary since he was 19 years old. This footage was commissioned as part of it,” Engelmayer said, before adding, “Neither Netflix, nor Mr. Jackson were kind enough to offer us a screener.”

Netflix, however, pointed the outlet to a statement from The Reckoning’s director, Alexandra Stapleton, who said the team obtained the footage legally. “It came to us, We obtained the footage legally and have the necessary rights,” she said. 

“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.”

Diddy accuses Netflix of ‘sensationalizing’ case 

Netflix

Despite the cease-and-desist, The Reckoning is now available for streaming on Netflix. But Combs’ lawyers have said they’re not opposed to taking further legal action. 

Combs’ original statement from his attorney states, “Netflix is plainly desperate to sensationalize every minute of Mr. Combs’s life, without regard for truth, in order to capitalize on a never-ending media frenzy. 

“If Netflix cared about truth or about Mr. Combs’s legal rights, it would not be ripping private footage out of context – including conversations with his lawyers that were never intended for public viewing. No rights in that material were ever transferred to Netflix or any third party.

“It is equally staggering that Netflix handed creative control to Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson – a longtime adversary with a personal vendetta who has spent too much time slandering Mr. Combs.”

As reported by CNN, the cease-and-desist letter itself states, “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.”

His representatives pointed to his history of taking media companies to court, including a $100 million defamation suit he once filed over a separate Peacock documentary, Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.

50 Cent ‘surprised’ by Combs footage

50 Cent continues to poke fun at Combs on social media, even sharing the cease-and-desist news reports on Instagram and writing, “Netflix is concerned their server may not be able to handle everyone watching at once 12am ET it goes live! Check me out.” 

Prior to this, he posted a jokey clip alongside the caption, “This the message Jay Z sent me when he realized he’s not in the Diddy doc.” And in another, he uploaded a photo of Harvey Weinstein’s crisis management PR agent, Juda Engelmayer. 

Next to the photo, he wrote, “This is Puffy’s crisis management PR. He is saying very nasty things about me. I mean very nasty, he is calling me an adversary. I just didn’t want to go to his parties LOL.”

On Monday (December 1), 50 appeared on Good Morning America, where he responded to the footage and offered his genuine thoughts about the case. 

A clip is played that shows Combs saying to someone on the phone, “I’m going to get off the phone right now and I am going to let you professionals look at the situation and come back to me with a solution. 

“No matter what nobody said, that’s just here and there, y’all are not working together the right way. We’re losing.”

Following this, 50 Cent said, “I think it was surprising that he actually filmed it.” 

Stapleton added, “It was very interesting to watch a man who’s known for his brand presence, you know, he has a really amazing knack for marketing and all of that, and how he was sort of taking that into account in how he was coming off to the public.”

Another clip shows Combs greeting fans in Harlem, later telling his entourage that he “needs some hand sanitizer… I’ve got to take a bath.”

50 suggested that this clip “shows you his character… that’s one of the moments where he forgot he was on tape.”

The rapper then responds to the claim that The Reckoning was more about his personal vendetta against Diddy than it was about giving a platform to Combs’ victims. 

“What they consider pre-existing beef for 20 years is me being uncomfortable with him suggesting that he takes me shopping… I looked at it like it was a tester, like, ‘Maybe you’ll come play with me’ type of thing, right? It’s not personal,” he explained.

Stapleton continued, “We weren’t trying to just get the highlights, the salacious details. The real goal was to storytell, and not everyone needed to have an allegation to be a part of this project.”

The four-part series also features two jurors from Combs’ trial who are speaking for the first time about how they reached their mixed verdict, finding Combs guilty of two prostitution offenses, but clear of racketeering and sex trafficking charges.

Sean Combs: The Reckoning is streaming on Netflix now. For more true crime news, find out where Tyria Moore is now, whether the Monster of Florence was ever caught, and how to watch TMZ’s Diddy documentary for free.