The release of Netflix’s four-part Diddy documentary has led to various allegations from the currently incarcerated mogul’s reps, including claims centered on the inclusion of footage they say was not authorized for use in this manner.
Now, a documentarian who worked for the Bad Boy Records founder has released a statement, blaming an unnamed “third party” for the footage’s change of hands.
“For over two years we have been working on a project profiling Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs,” Michael Oberlies, also known as Obes, said in a statement shared with Complex via a Diddy spokesperson. “The footage in question was not released by me or anyone authorized to handle Sean Combs’ materials; it was by a third party who covered for me for three days while I was out of state. This incident had nothing to do with any fee dispute or contract issue.”
Oberlies continued: “The actions of the parties involved reflect the lack of integrity every storyteller should uphold. Taking footage intended for our project to advance a narrative that was not our own is both unethical and unacceptable.”
The documentarian’s remarks were first reported by Rolling Stone.
Footage included in the Alexandria Stapleton-directed docuseries, which counts 50 Cent as an executive producer, shows Diddy in the days leading up to his 2024 arrest and subsequent trial. A Netflix spokesperson previously told Complex that the disputed footage, which was quick to be called out by Diddy’s reps, was “legally obtained.”
A rep for the streamer also denied other claims made by Diddy’s team, including the suggestion that participants had “financial motives” for taking part in the production.
"The claims being made about Sean Combs: The Reckoning are false,” a Netflix spokesperson told Complex on Dec. 3, the day after Stapleton’s docuseries debuted on the platform. “The project has no ties to any past conversations between Sean Combs and Netflix. The footage of Combs leading up to his indictment and arrest were legally obtained. This is not a hit piece or an act of retribution. Curtis Jackson is an executive producer but does not have creative control. No one was paid to participate.”
The series has proven to be an indisputable hit. This week, Netflix reported opening numbers of just under 22 million views.
All of this has played out while Diddy remains behind bars following his conviction on two Mann Act violations earlier this year. The 56-year-old is currently set to be released in 2028.