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A new four-part Netflix documentary, Sean Combs: The Reckoning, produced by rapper 50 Cent and released Tuesday, is facing strong backlash from Sean "Diddy" Combs' lawyers. The documentary, billed as a "staggering examination" of the hip-hop mogul (convicted on prostitution charges earlier this year), includes "explosive" footage of Combs before his arrest, even a phone call with his lawyers. Combs' legal team has slammed it as "a shameful hit piece" that "relied on stolen footage.”
The director said she obtained the footage legally, but Combs' spokesman said it was "fundamentally unfair, and illegal" to use his private footage. He also said it was "staggering" that Netflix had given creative control to 50 Cent, who he described as "a longtime adversary with a personal vendetta".
"Netflix is plainly desperate to sensationalise every minute of Mr Combs's life, without regard for truth, in order to capitalise on a never-ending media frenzy," the statement said.
"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."
The statement added: "For Netflix to give his life story to someone who has publicly attacked him for decades feels like an unnecessary and deeply personal affront. At minimum, he expected fairness from people he respected.”
Combs' spokesman said the documentary contained footage that was "never authorised for release".
The documentary is executive produced by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, whose long-running feud with Combs stretches back two decades.
The documentary also includes interviews with two jurors from Combs' trial. In July, he was convicted on two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution but found not guilty of the most serious charges - racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking of two ex-girlfriends.
He is now serving a 50-month prison sentence and has said he will appeal.
