By Melissa Fleur AfsharShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberA new Netflix series chronicling the rise and dramatic fall of Sean "Diddy" Combs will debut December 2, and its executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson wants the public to take a hard look at the culture that made the music mogul a star.
“I’ve been committed to real storytelling for years through G-Unit Film and Television,” 50 Cent said in a statement. “I’m grateful to everyone who came forward and trusted us with their stories, and proud to have Alexandria Stapleton as the director on the project to bring this important story to the screen.”
The four-part series, Sean Combs: The Reckoning, is directed by Emmy Award–winning filmmaker Stapleton and executive produced by Jackson, whose public feud with Combs dates back nearly two decades. The docuseries promises a “staggering examination” of a man, once the richest rapper of all time with an estimated net worth of $1 billion, now serving a 50-month sentence in federal prison for transporting individuals across state lines for sex.
According to Netflix, the documentary features never-before-seen footage and exclusive interviews with former members of Diddy's inner circle, offering new insight into his decades-long influence over all areas of U.S. pop culture, and its subsequent downfall that has made headlines for years.
"People are free to produce whatever content they think will attract viewers," Juda S. Engelmayer, president and CEO of HeraldPR, of which Combs is a client, told Newsweek. "Sean Combs is focused on his legal fight, his appeal and rebuilding his life.
"We’re not engaging with entertainment projects, or platforms, that have previously shown they are willing to rely on unverified or later-discredited material simply to shape a narrative. Our priority is the legal process, not the noise created for commercial gain."
What Happened to P. Diddy?
Born November 4, 1969, in Harlem, New York, Combs grew up in poverty before entering the music industry.
His influence, which shaped careers from Mary J. Blige's to Usher's, extended across hip-hop, fashion, television and even liquor branding. But his empire began to unravel in November 2023, when pop singer Casandra "Cassie" Ventura—his ex-partner—filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault, psychological abuse, domestic violence and sex trafficking.
View contenthttps://www.instagram.com/p/DRfAeR3jsvN/
The case was settled within a day for $20 million but sparked furor among former fans who quickly began dissecting Diddy's past on social media, including his infamous White Parties, which allegedly drew stars to lavish mansions where debauchery was encouraged.
In 2024, a video surfaced showing Combs violently assaulting Ventura in a hotel hallway. That footage, from 2016, combined with the high-profile settlement, sparked a fresh cascade of legal troubles. Over the next year, multiple lawsuits were filed by men and women alleging abuse by Combs spanning decades.
...Federal scrutiny intensified in March 2024 when Homeland Security agents raided several of Combs’ properties. By September, he was charged with sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering. He pled not guilty to all charges but was denied bail on three occasions.
Combs’ trial began on May 5, 2025, and on July 2, a federal jury found him guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was acquitted of the charges for racketeering and sex trafficking that could have resulted in a life sentence.
On October 3, 2025, Combs was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison. With credit for time served, he is scheduled for release in May 2028, but his attorneys announced in early October that they are appealing this decision.
In November, a new investigation into Combs by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was reported, following a September 20 complaint by a man who alleged Combs sexually assaulted him in 2020 during a photo shoot in Los Angeles, California.
The man, a publicist and producer, alleged Combs began masturbating under a shirt while watching pornography, exposed himself and asked him to assist. Later, the man said he was assaulted and berated as a "snitch" by Combs and two accomplices.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement to Newsweek: “We received an official copy of the report from Lago Police Department on Friday, November 14 and The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau is in the preliminary stages of the investigation. Given the sensitive nature of this case and our responsibility to protect potential victims, we are unable to share additional details at this time.”
Once one of pop culture's most powerful figures, the new Netflix series sets out to examine how that image was built in the first place—and how it concealed what former collaborators now describe as a darker reality beneath the surface.
Executive producer 50 Cent has spoke of a rift with Combs for the past 10 years. The "In Da Club" rapper released a diss track against Combs in 2006, titled "The Bomb."
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