50 Cent’s Doc Reveals Diddy's Panic Over Image Control

By Melissa Fleur Afshar

Life and Trends Reporter

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A new Netflix documentary about Sean "Diddy" Combs is drawing attention not just for its explosive allegations, but also for the rare, candid footage of the music mogul himself—speaking openly about his criminal case, legal fears, and the media frenzy that surrounded him before his conviction.

The footage, shot by a personal videographer in 2024 while Combs was under federal investigation, captures the former Bad Boy Records founder pacing, frustrated, and dissecting the public perception of his case in real time. Obtained by law enforcement after his arrest, it now appears for the first time in Sean Combs: The Reckoning, the new four-part Netflix series was executive-produced by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and directed by Alexandria Stapleton.

"I’ve listened. I’ve been a superb client, as you’ve said," Combs tells his attorney Marc Agnifilo in a tense phone call shown on screen. "I’ve jumped on a plane and I’ve come to New York. But I’m just running around waiting for a shoe to drop."

At the time, Combs had not yet been indicted but was aware of the growing legal storm.

His frustration with what he saw as a slow and reactive legal strategy is evident.

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"You have to have some sort of comms to constantly be pushing that," he says, noting the dominance of platforms such as Instagram and TikTok in shaping public opinion.

The documentary also captures Combs saying that someone familiar with "the dirtiest of dirtiest dirty business of media and propaganda" should be handling the narrative.

"There’s like an audience to a movie and they don’t understand the language and there’s no subtitles," he says.

"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."

Tupac Allegations

The release offers a rare glimpse of a media-savvy celebrity confronting the limits of image control as his empire unraveled. Combs is serving a 50-month prison sentence after being convicted in July of transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution. He was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

The documentary is also making waves for another moment: a blunt accusation from Kirk Burrowes, a longtime friend and former business associate of Combs. "I think that Sean now in my mature mind had a lot to do with the death of Tupac," Burrowes says on camera.

Combs has never been charged in relation to the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur and has repeatedly denied any connection.

From archival footage to interviews with former employees and insiders, The Reckoning presents a layered portrait of a mogul who once built an empire—and now, from prison, faces its public dissection.

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