Rapper 50 Cent is preparing to reveal new insight into the demise of his former rival, Sean “Diddy” Combs, in a new Netflix documentary that will include footage of the disgraced rapper taken just days before his September 2024 arrest.
50 Cent, 50, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, has been embroiled in a very bitter feud with Combs, 56, since 2005, partnered with director Alexandria Stapleton to give fans an inside look at the disgraced rapper’s “true character” in “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” which will premiere Dec. 2.
Ahead of the documentary’s release, 50 Cent sat down with Stapleton for an interview on “Good Morning America,” during which they discussed the content of the four-part series, which has been described by the streaming giant as “a staggering examination of the media mogul, music legend and convicted offender.”
The duo also shared a teaser for the doc, which shows never-before-seen footage of Diddy—who had agreed to be filmed for the project—speaking to his lawyers just six days before his arrest in New York.
In the clip, Diddy is seen telling his legal team that they needed a new strategy because they were “losing,” a clear indication that he knew what charges he was about to face.
“We need to find someone who will work with us who has worked in the dirtiest of dirty businesses. We are losing,” Combs said during the phone call, which seemingly took place in a hotel room in New York City, which is where his trial was held.
While speaking to “GMA,” 50 Cent denied claims that his involvement in the docuseries had anything to do with their decades-long “beef,” noting that it is meant, instead, to offer a platform for Diddy’s victims.
“It’s not personal,” 50 Cent noted, while Stapleton chimed in, “The real goal was to story-tell. Not everyone needed to have an allegation to be a part of this project.”
The director noted that the documentary reveals much more than just “salacious details.”
Last week, 50 Cent said in a statement, “I’ve been committed to real storytelling for years through G-Unit Film and Television. 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.”
Elsewhere in the documentary teaser, the music producer could be heard asking his team for “hand sanitizer” after greeting fans.
“It shows you his character. What [are] the odds that you would do that in front of the camera? That’s one of the moments where he forgot that he was on tape,” 50 Cent claimed.
In another part of the documentary, a presumably younger Combs foreshadowed his own fate by exclaiming, “Everything in life you are going to have people that are bad and people that are good. You have to choose your side.”
The docuseries will also lay bare the complicated relationship between Combs and songstress Cassie Ventura, who dated from 2007 to 2018.
Two jurors from Combs’ trial will speak out about Ventura’s testimony, which saw her telling the jury about the alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, as well share details on how they came to their verdicts.
The look into the documentary comes just weeks after Combs’ sentence was extended by a month after he repeatedly broke several rules at Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institute in New Jersey, including making an unauthorized three-way phone call.
His sentence was extended by an extra month just days after he was transferred from the “horrific” Brooklyn prison to a “low-security” jail in New Jersey as a judge allowed the disgraced rapper’s lawyers to expedite his appeal.
The 55-year-old—who fell victim to a terrifying knife attack in his cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, NY—was moved from the prison which previously housed Ghislaine Maxwell and R. Kelly.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the rapper—who was sentenced to four years behind bars earlier this month after being found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution—is now serving out his time at the federal correctional institution in New Jersey, known as FCI Fort Dix.
Per a letter sent to a judge from Diddy’s lawyers, it was crucial for the star to be moved “to address drug abuse issues and to maximize family visitation and rehabilitative efforts.
Diddy’s new prison is situated at the military’s Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, which is northeast of Philadelphia.
The new jail is a stark difference from where the disgraced rapper was previously serving his time, which has been described as “hell on Earth” by former inmates and has a shocking history of inmate violence, murder, and suicides, according to multiple reports.
The news of Diddy’s move comes as it was revealed that a judge has allowed his appeal to move forward—and with a fast-track meaning he could be out of prison before his expected May 8, 2028 release date.
“Appellant move to expedite the appeal on the following schedule: Appellant’s opening brief and appendix due by December 23, 2025; the Government’s brief due by February 20, 2026; Appellant’s reply brief due by March 13, 2026; and oral argument in April of 2026,” U.S. Circuit Court Judge Beth Robinson revealed.
“It is hereby ordered that the motion is granted. Briefing shall proceed on the proposed schedule and argument shall be held as early as April of 2026, subject to the approval of the Presiding Judge,” the ruling read.
The ruling comes days after Diddy’s friend, Charlucci Finney, clamed the rapper had fallen prey to one of those acts of violence, having awoken in the night to find another inmate holding “a knife to his throat.”
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Finney, who has known Diddy for more than three decades, said that the attack appears to have been carried out as a warning rather than an actual assault, noting that the aggressor could easily have “harmed” the music mogul if he had wanted to.
“He woke up with a knife to his throat,” Finney said, adding that this isn’t the first time the music producer has been nearly injured inside the jail.
“I don’t know whether he fought him off or the guards came, I just know that it happened. If this guy had wanted to harm him, Sean would have been harmed. It would only take a second to cut his throat with a weapon and kill him.
“It was probably a way to say, ‘Next time you ain’t gonna be so lucky.’ Everything is intimidation. But with Sean, it won’t work. Sean is from Harlem.”
Finney did not reveal when the attack took place—although his recounting of the incident comes just days after Diddy revealed that he plans to appeal his sentence and conviction.
Lawyers for the musician filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. federal court on Oct. 20, informing officials of their plan to move forward in their bid to overturn his conviction.
The filing, submitted by Alexandra Shapiro, did not specify the grounds on which the rapper’s legal team will base the appeal, but his attorneys have previously argued that Diddy’s conviction should not stand because the statute regarding transportation for the purposes of prostitution does not apply.
Diddy’s lawyers have previously pleaded with the courts to transfer the music producer from the jail due to its long history of violence. Their concerns didn’t come without cause, as the facility—which is the only federal jail in New York City—has been plagued with issues since it began holding inmates in the 1990s.
At one point, conditions were so stark that judges even refused to send people to the center, which houses 1,200 detainees, according to the Associated Press.
The prison features outdoor recreation facilities, a medical unit, a dental suite, an educational program, and a library.
However, inmates have long lamented the violence, lack of staff, shower bans, and smuggling of drugs and contraband, some of which they claim is encouraged by jail staff.
Furthermore, six of the MDC employees have been charged with crimes over the span of five years. Many were accused of accepting bribes or supplying inmates with contraband such as drugs, cellphones, and cigarettes, according to the AP.
Michael Cohen, former fixer for President Donald Trump, previously told CNN, “He’s waking up on a steel bed with a 1.5-inch mattress, no pillow, in an 8-by-10-foot cell that I can assure you is disgusting.”
The news of his near-death injury came amid reports that Trump is eyeing a commutation—a move that could see the rapper being allowed to return to his $48 million Miami home within days.
TMZ claimed that a “high-ranking White House official” has alleged that Trump is “vacillating” on a commutation.
“Trump will do what he wants,” even though staff is allegedly telling him not to commute the disgraced rapper’s sentence, the source told the outlet.
Although TMZ reported that the official shared the news with the outlet, according to Us Weekly, the reports are false, as a White House official told Us Weekly that there is “no truth” to those claims.
This isn’t the first time Diddy has sought to avoid serving his prison sentence. Just a few weeks ago, the judge overseeing his trial denied the rapper’s request to overturn his two prostitution-related convictions.
Diddy’s lawyers had submitted a motion to toss out his convictions on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution or grant him a new trial, and arguments for and against this motion were heard by U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in a Manhattan courtroom ahead of his sentencing.
According to USA Today, the judge said that the evidence provided by the prosecution was “overwhelming.” He also rejected Diddy’s attorneys’ attempt to restrict the definition of “prostitution.”
Combs once lived a glamorous life in his Miami pad, which is situated on Star Island and is the same home he previously used as collateral in a failed $50 million bail plea after he was arrested on a series of heinous charges.
Diddy’s Miami home is made up of two properties, which the rapper bought decades apart.
The first, a nine-bedroom, 12-bathroom mansion, was purchased by Diddy for $14.5 million in 2003. He picked up the second home, which is next door to his original Miami mansion and has six bedrooms and 8.5 bathrooms, for $35 million in 2021.
His second property was previously owned by Gloria and Emilio Estefan and includes two buildings, which sit on a 1.34-acre lot and spans 19,545 square feet. They come with nine bedrooms, a swimming pool, and a private boat deck.
It is thought that Diddy was planning to use his Miami home as his primary residence, had he secured bail.
The residence sits inside a guard-gated community on a corner lot facing the water. It offers incredible views of Biscayne Bay and the downtown Miami skyline.
The community has long been known as an exclusive spot for celebrities and the ultrawealthy, with the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Alex Rodriguez, and “Real Housewives of Miami” star Lisa Hochstein all owning homes on the island.