Netflix have defended their documentary about Sean 'Diddy' Combs after the rapper branded it "a shameful hit piece".

The streaming service released Sean Combs: The Reckoning on Tuesday (02.12.25) and the four-part series includes "explosive" footage of the 56-year-old star - who is serving 50 months behind bars after being convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution - on the phone to his lawyers in the days prior to his arrest in September 2004, which his representatives branded "fundamentally unfair and illegal".

However, Netflix have now hit back and insisted there is nothing untoward about The Reckoning.

A spokesperson said in a statement: "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 [50 Cent] is an executive producer but does not have creative control. No one was paid to participate."

Diddy's representative had blasted the use of private footage in the series.

A statement said: "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.

"If Netflix cared about truth or 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 I'll Be Missing You hitmaker's spokesperson also attacked Netflix's "staggering" decision to give creative control on the series to rapper 50 Cent, who is described as a "longtime adversary with a personal vendetta".

The statement read: "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."

The disgraced star's spokesperson explained that the documentary featured footage that was "never authorised for release".

They said: "As Netflix and CEO Ted Sarandos know, Mr Combs has been amassing footage since he was 19 to tell his own story. It is fundamentally unfair, and illegal, for Netflix to misappropriate that work."

The documentary's director, Alexandria Stapleton, previously insisted she had the "necessary rights" to use the footage.

She said: "It came to us, we obtained the footage legally and have the necessary rights.

"We moved heaven and earth to keep the filmmaker's identity confidential."

50 Cent - who has a long-running feud with Diddy dating back two decades - is an executive producer and felt that it was necessary for the hip-hop world to address the crimes.

The 50-year-old rapper told Good Morning America: "If I didn't say anything, you would interpret it as that hip-hop is fine with his behaviours. There's no-one else being vocal."