50 Cent's Diddy doc features never-seen footage days before arrest

50 Cent's documentary on Sean "Diddy" Combs is all-access.

The limited documentary series – co-produced by Combs' longtime foe with director Alexandria Stapleton – opens with shaky footage of Combs six days before his indictment on federal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.

The footage, which Diddy's team has called "illegal" and "stolen footage that was never authorized for release," appears to be shot by a videographer hired by Combs, capturing the mogul in his New York City hotel room on the phone with his longtime attorney Marc Agnifilo.

Combs had a videographer follow him while in New York City during the investigation, and filmmakers noted in an onscreen statement that they obtained the footage after Combs' arrest on Sept. 16, 2024.

Combs complains about the onslaught of lawsuits and the looming federal investigation into him, saying he wants to "fight for his life." Combs describes taking the accusations head-on, with Agnifilo appearing to suggest the lack of an indictment or arrest is a good sign. But Combs is not convinced and rails at Agnifilo for his team's poor communication strategy.

"We have to find somebody that'll work with us. It can be somebody that has dealt in the dirtiest of dirty business of media and propaganda," Combs tells Agnifilo. "I'm taking eight nuclear bombs straight to the head. And I'm tired of going back in forth with you all ... You all are not working together the right way. We're losing."

At one point, the videographer captured federal agents on a rooftop across from the hotel room.

The episode later features footage of Combs in the media, as well as commentary from former Bad Boy artists Kalenna Harper and Aubrey O'Day, singer Al B. Sure!, former security guard Roger Bonds, former assistant (and prosecution witness) Capricorn Clark and Juror 160 from the federal trial, as well as Bad Boy Entertainment cofounder Kirk Burrowes, who has a civil case against Combs.

"He's creating a narrative always," Clark said. "He is the best storyteller in hip-hop. He thinks he's Black Superman. 'I can do what I want!'"

Meanwhile, Juror 160 called the jury's decision "not everything the media has put it out to be."

Combs was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, the lesser of his charges, and sentenced to just over four years in prison. However in November, the record producer's release date was pushed back from May 8, 2028, to June 4, 2028, days after Combs' representative denied a report that claimed he had created and consumed alcohol in prison.

Diddy's team calls use of never-seen footage 'illegal,' issues cease and desist

In addition to criticizing the use of footage featuring Combs days ahead of his arrest, the rap mogul's team also issued a second cease-and-desist letter to Netflix, the first of which was issued when the documentary was first announced.

"Netflix's promotion of the Program as a 'documentary' is fundamentally misleading," his team writes, calling it a "hit" piece conceived by longtime foe 50 Cent, "whose irrational fixation on destroying Mr. Combs's reputation is a matter of public record."

The letter continued: "Simply put, there is no one less able to view any aspect of Mr. Combs's life and legacy through a fair and objective lens."

In a statement provided to Netflix's official news site, Tudum, Stapleton said the footage "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," she continued. "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."