50 Cent is addressing speculation about his motives behind producing Netflix’s explosive new docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning, and he insists the project wasn’t driven by personal beef with Diddy.
In a new interview with GQ, 50 sat down with director Alexandria Stapleton to discuss why he pushed for the four-part series to be made and why the final product doesn’t center solely on Combs’ federal case, but instead chronicles his rise, cultural influence, and eventual downfall. Despite their long-running feud, 50 says he produced the doc because someone in hip-hop needed to speak up.
“If someone’s not saying something, then you would assume everybody in hip-hop is okay with what’s going on,” he told GQ's Frazier Tharpe. He added that many artists prefer to “mind [their] business” due to the position of power Diddy held for decades, which ultimately left 50 feeling he was the only one willing to step forward.
The series arrives after Diddy’s legal team sent Netflix a cease-and-desist letter calling the film a “shameful hit piece,” but the platform moved ahead anyway. The documentary includes previously unseen footage of Diddy in the days before his arrest, with the music mogul now serving a 50-month sentence at Fort Dix for violating the Mann Act.
Despite viewers assuming the doc would be fueled by 50’s personal vendetta, he was quick to clarify that Stapleton shaped the narrative, not him. The director began developing the project shortly after Cassie’s lawsuit against Diddy became public, choosing to paint a full portrait of his life rather than crafting a crime-only exposé.
50 even stressed that many things he knew didn’t appear in the final cut because the storytellers had to follow verified accounts and survivor testimony.
“There’s no place for me, I didn’t make the docuseries,” he explained. “I got the best possible people to make one. That’s why you don’t feel anybody’s energy when watching.”
But when asked if he had an agenda, 50 didn’t hold back, instead joking about how different the project would look if he were in creative control. The rapper-turned-producer also said nothing in the film shocked him, noting that he already knew much of what ultimately reached the screen.
“If it was [my agenda], I would’ve focused on the fact that you’re the only man in jail for transporting male sex workers,” said 50.