Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson Details Involvement In Making Of Sean Combs Doc & Potential Sequel As Diddy’s Legal Woes Continue To Unfold

SPOILER ALERT: The following reveals major plot points from the four-part Netflix documentary Sean Combs: The Reckoning.

At the height of his career, Sean Combs was untouchable. He had a booming career, a growing family, awards galore, and the respect of fans all over the world. Today, he is serving a four-year sentence at the minimum security prison, Federal Correctional Institution, in Fort Dix, New Jersey, after being convicted of two counts of transportation for prostitution.

Combs’ life and a multitude of allegations that have been made against him are explored in the new four-part documentary Sean Combs: The Reckoning, from executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and director/EP Alexandria Stapleton. The provocative title is available to stream right now on Netflix.

Jackson, a critic of the music mogul, became more dedicated to trolling Combs on social media as allegations and lawsuits began blowing up the news cycle back in 2023. His legions of rabid followers live for the drama. But it should be known that Sean Combs: The Reckoning isn’t a “trolling doc,” per se. Jackson won’t pop up at random moments to mock Combs or make silly jokes. This is a professional documentary that, by exploring the Bad Boy Records founder’s story, perhaps trolls Combs by merely existing.

Deadline caught up with Jackson and Stapleton last week to discuss some of the documentary’s most significant moments. Dressed up in a sharp suit, the rapper and producer was more reserved in discussing Combs and the documentary than his better-known, fun and vibrant online personality. From our conversation, I chalk this up to Jackson wanting to be respectful of the victims and accusers, known and unknown, as new lawsuits and allegations continue to pop up.

On the topic, Jackson expressed how vital it was for him to find the right person to shape a documentary that went through multiple iterations before becoming Sean Combs: The Reckoning.

“It was important for me to get Alex to do the project. I started [working on it] about five months ahead of her, collecting people who wanted to speak and tell the truth. They knew that I wouldn’t have an issue with what they were saying, regardless,” shared Jackson of his ambition to platform authentic voices.

Beyond that, he revealed that as part of his involvement, he conferred with Stapleton while watching footage.

“We were watching the first episode, and I’d be able to give feedback on different things, like where I was at when this was happening, or what was going on, like in culture and in music at that point. Then, we’d have conversations about it, and sometimes she’d consider things, and sometimes she wouldn’t. She decides how it goes,” Jackson added.

Stapleton is a documentarian who has covered a wide range of subjects, including Roger Corman, actor and film producer; comedian Chelsea Handler, who is a former girlfriend of Jackson; football coach Jill Ellis; and she was behind the FX docuseries Pride, which explores LGBTQ+ rights in the United States across decades.

Jackson leaned on Stapleton to tell an unbiased story through her lens, something he perhaps could not do himself due to his proximity to the subject. Across the four episodes, she hits the mark while giving the world a peek behind the curtain at who Combs is when the flash bulbs and fans are too far to take a selfie.

“What you will see in the documentary, you have to credit all of that to Alex,” he said emphatically and with pride. “She put it together through her pacing and her telling of the story. That’s why it doesn’t feel biased at all. It was important to us that [people] get their personal truths out, and for us to allow everybody to tell their story.”

The talking heads include many names tied to Combs, like singer Al B. Sure, who was married to Kim Porter before she entered into a relationship with Combs; Aubrey O’Day of Danity Kane fame; his former assistant Capricorn Clark; producer Lil Rod; Kirk Burrows, who co-founded Bad Boy Records with Combs. Combs’ ex-partner Cassie Ventura was invited to participate in the doc, but she declined.

The story of Ventura’s tumultuous and abusive relationship with Combs is explored in Episode 3. It’s a challenging yet important watch, but it’s worth noting that nothing was gratuitous and was handled with respect. The same goes for the final episode when Lil Rod and Burrows open up about the abuse, including mental, physical, and sexual, they say experienced at the hands of Combs. For both men, it proved challenging to tell their stories in front of cameras.

When men began accusing Combs of sexual abuse, there were comments on social media poking fun at Combs for potentially being gay or bisexual. However, the documentary posits that power and control are behind sexual abuse, not sexual attraction.

Stapleton noted, “Sexual violence is not a sexual preference. Sexual violence is sexual violence; if one commits crimes like that or commits assault. I think that’s a very, very, very big thing that is very important to this series. This is not about identifying Sean Combs’ sexuality at all. When you have someone who assaults people, the conversation about their sexuality should actually be kept outside. It was important to show that there are women and men, and this is their truth, these are their allegations, and for them to feel safe to be able to share those.”

Jackson added, “I absolutely agree with what you said, because the power and being able to be every individual that the woman is in a sexual act with is allowing him to be physically the size of every man that she delivered. And that is, ‘I’m turning her all the way out. I’m gonna do this and do that.’ So, because he had her in a space where he could get her to follow whatever instructions he would offer, he did the most, particularly with Cassie.”

Working with Netflix, one would think the legal team behind a documentary like this would be extremely diligent regarding what stories were off limits. So, the stories at the center of the project will be familiar, but with Stapleton adding a different point of view.

Across the four episodes, the production explores different times in Combs’ life, like growing up as the son of Janice Combs, his college years, and Episode 3 goes heavy into Combs’ potential role in the murders of Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls. While the topic has been covered ad nauseam, the doc makes a strong case for how and why he could have been involved, as well as his connection to Duane “Keefe D” Davis, the former gang leader who was arrested and charged with Shakur’s murder in 2023.

Then there are obvious moments where the viewer will wonder why something isn’t explored further or at all. For example, singer and producer Sure, born Albert Joseph Brown III, never addressed the medical emergency that left him with organ failure, among other serious health issues, which has been alleged to have been some of Combs’s handywork handled by someone other than him. It’s worth noting that Sure has never filed charges against Combs regarding the matter.

The topic of the legalities will be addressed by Stapleton in a forthcoming story to drop later today.

While the documentary travels mostly familiar territory, it’s the explosive videos showing Combs’ walk-up to his arrest that provides a new perspective on his story.

When Jackson and Stapleton appeared on Good Morning America on Monday morning, they aired a teaser trailer that showed viewers what to expect from the documentary, including those private videos. Combs swiftly released a statement against the production, calling it “a shameful hit piece,” and claiming the footage was “never cleared for release.”

Despite his complaint, Sean Combs: The Reckoning dropped at midnight on the West Coast with no issues.

In our chat last week, Jackson spoke of the importance of featuring these videos as a way of unmasking a vulnerable and perhaps scared Combs, who, in the doc, says he can only be compared to the Son of God.

“It allows you to see him right there at that point,” Jackson said, of those moments when Combs believed he was alone and still in control, though his confidence seemed to falter.

On the experience of making the documentary with Stapleton, Jackson continued to sing her praises. He said, “That was all, Alex Stapleton,” while discussing the choices made regarding where each story would be spotlighted in the documentary.

Their collaboration was such a positive experience that it could continue as Combs’ legal woes continue to unfold. More from Stapleton in our continued coverage of the release of the documentary, but for now, a teaser.

“There’s more to come. More civil suits are coming down the line. I see this really as a new beginning in storytelling, going behind the curtain to understand what happened. My prediction is that there will probably be more storytelling after this,” she said.