Rumors that Sean "Diddy" Combs is preparing a $1 billion lawsuit against Netflix have intensified scrutiny of the streaming giant's docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning, a project that has quickly become one of the platform's most controversial releases. The development comes as Combs, already navigating multiple legal crises, confronts allegations that Netflix used unauthorized personal footage in a series executive-produced by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson.
Reports circulating across entertainment outlets, including Hot97, claim Combs and his family are assessing a sweeping defamation action if Netflix fails to retract what they view as damaging and unauthorized material. No lawsuit has been filed, and representatives for Combs have not issued formal confirmation, leaving the matter dependent on industry sourcing rather than court records.
One insider quoted in several reports argued that the series relies on improperly obtained material, saying: "Netflix's so-called 'documentary' is a blatant attempt to harm Combs' reputation. The GMA teaser highlights that Netflix relied on appropriated footage. This footage was never authorised for public disclosure. Since he was just 19, Combs has been gathering material to narrate his own story. It is not only fundamentally unjust but also illegal for Netflix to exploit that content." The claim underscores the deepening dispute over ownership and control of archival recordings at the center of the conflict.
Combs' legal team has already taken steps to challenge the project. Prior to release, attorneys sent a cease-and-desist letter accusing Netflix of incorporating "stolen" footage and denouncing the series as a "shameful hit piece." They argued that Combs had documented his life for years for the purpose of producing his own film and that the streamer's use of the footage amounted to an unauthorized and unlawful act.
The disagreement intensified over scenes included in the series' promotional material, which feature Combs in the days before his 2024 arrest. His team maintains that none of this material was ever cleared for broadcast.
Netflix and the filmmakers have forcefully rejected the allegations. In response to CNN, the streaming service pointed to comments from director Alexandra Stapleton, who said: "It came to us. We obtained the footage legally and have the necessary rights." She added: "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."
Netflix has also stressed that Jackson did not have unilateral creative control and that no participants were paid for appearing in the series-an assertion intended to bolster the project's credibility as a journalistic documentary rather than a partisan exposé. The competing narratives underline a broader struggle over the portrayal of Combs' public downfall, including the boundaries of fair use, documentary sourcing, and the commercial value of celebrity archives.
If Combs were to file a lawsuit seeking $1 billion in damages, it would rank among the most consequential streaming-era defamation cases, raising new questions about how platforms handle sensitive material involving public figures who have long maintained their own curated archives.
