50 Cent explains why he made bombshell doc about Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Diddy has since responded to Netflix's 'Sean Combs: The Reckoning' docu-series
50 Cent has lifted the lid on what inspired him to get involved with Netflix's new docu-series on disgraced rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
Last week (2 December), the four-part docuseries titled Sean Combs: The Reckoning hit Netflix, with 50 listed as one of the programme's executive producers who worked alongside Emmy Award–winning director Alexandria Stapleton.
The doc unpacks the 'allegations behind Sean 'Diddy' Combs and his Bad Boy empire, spanning decades of his life and career'.
In a statement released through a spokesperson, Combs slammed the doc as a 'shameless hit piece' by 'a longtime adversary with a personal vendetta' against him.
Advert
In 2024, the fallen music executive was arrested and accused of running a sex-trafficking scheme. A federal jury returned its verdict in October 2025, finding Combs guilty on two counts of transporting individuals for prostitution.
He received a four-year, two-month prison term and was cleared of three other charges, including a racketeering count that could have carried a life sentence. Combs maintained his innocence throughout the trial and rejected every allegation.
In a recent interview with GQ, 50 - who has a decade-spanning feud with Combs - was asked about why he wanted to be included in the doc, to which he responded it was 'just the culture itself' which is what attracted him to it.
"If someone's not saying something, then you would assume that everybody in hip-hop is okay with what's going on because [other rappers] will say, 'I ain't going to say nothing. I'm going to mind my business,' because of a position that [Diddy] held in culture for so long, you understand?
"So [that] would leave me. Without me saying that I will do it, there's nobody there," he explained.
"So in your mind, this is like you drawing the line in the sand here, making this and putting the right context around it?" the interviewer asked, prompting 50 to respond: "That's right, because if it's one person's decision, one person's behaviour, it's not the entire culture's behaviour."
In a joint statement to PEOPLE, 50 and Stapleton called the doc 'a story with significant human impact. It is a complex narrative spanning decades, not just the headlines or clips seen so far'.
50 argued he had been speaking plainly for years, claiming: "Look, it seems like I'm doing some extremely outrageous things, but I haven't. It's really me just saying what I've been saying for 10 years."
He framed the documentary as part of that stance, adding in a statement that the team wanted 'to give a voice to the voiceless and to present authentic and nuanced perspectives'.
"While the allegations are disturbing, we urge all to remember that Sean Combs’ story is not the full story of hip hop and its culture. We aim to ensure that individual actions do not overshadow the culture’s broader contributions," he told the outlet.
Sean Combs: The Reckoning is currently streaming on Netflix.
Topics: Celebrity, Diddy, Documentaries, Netflix, TV And Film, Music
Rhiannon Ingle