As the words of 50 Cent's Netflix documentary, Sean Combs: The Reckoning, echoed through the clubs, the rapper could be found in the thick of the nightlife, but his interactions with Sean "Diddy" Combs remained a distant memory. Over a week since the release of the series, 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson III in real life) confirmed that he had been incommunicado with the former music mogul since their federal court case. However, the 50-year-old did share a glimmer of interaction with Combs' children—Quincy, 34; Christian, 27; twins D'Lila and Jessie, 18, with late ex Kim Porter; Justin, 31, with Misa Hylton; Chance, 18, with Sarah Chapman; and Love Sean, 3, with Dana Tran.
"I had communications with his son," 50 Cent told Us Weekly in an interview published on Dec. 9, though he didn't specify which of Diddy's sons it was. "There was a point when they were interested in being a part of the doc because they wanted to show their perspective. They were concerned about how [things] would be portrayed."
Indeed, Combs himself spoke out against his longtime rival's docuseries shortly before it hit the platform on Dec. 2. "Netflix's so-called 'documentary' is a shameful hit piece," Combs' attorneys said in a Dec. 1 statement to Variety. "Netflix relied on stolen footage that was never authorized for release. As Netflix and CEO Ted Sarandos know, Mr. Combs has been amassing footage since he was 19 to tell his own story, in his own way. It is fundamentally unfair, and illegal, for Netflix to misappropriate that work."
Combs' representatives went on to label the new series an attempt "to capitalize on a never-ending media frenzy." "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," the statement continued. "No rights in that material were ever transferred to Netflix or any third party."
A spokesperson for Netflix, however, shot back at Diddy's claims, saying in a statement to E! News that "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."
50 Cent too maintained that the footage of Combs featured in the documentary was legally acquired, adding, "I'm going to keep my sources secure." Additionally, the "In da Club" singer believed that Combs would eventually come around to the docuseries. "It shows his full story," he reasoned. "Puff cares a lot about legacy, everybody knows that. This doc doesn't shy away from any part of it—the success, the trauma, the power, the contradictions… all of it. He might not like every single thing that’s said, but I think he’ll respect the scope of it. It’s honest. It’s complete."
