A new Netflix docuseries is pulling back the curtain on one of music’s biggest figures. “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” debuted on December 2, 2025. The four-part documentary series, directed by Alexandria Stapleton and executive produced by rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, chronicles the rise and dramatic fall of Sean “Diddy” Combs. It arrives just two months after Combs was sentenced to prison, featuring private footage and interviews that offer a new look at the allegations behind his empire.
The Private Footage of Combs’s Final Days of Freedom
The series includes footage described as never-before-seen, shot with Combs’s knowledge in the six days leading up to his arrest and indictment in September 2024. At the time, Combs was under federal investigation. One clip shows him in a New York City hotel room discussing the growing legal pressure with his team.
“We’re losing,” Combs says on a call, captured in the documentary.
The footage also shows Combs out in Harlem taking pictures with fans. Afterward, in his car, he asks for hand sanitizer and talks about needing to take a bath with boiling hot water. Combs’s team has strongly objected to the use of this footage. His publicist, Juda Engelmayer, stated the video was “private material” from an unfinished project and its inclusion raises “serious questions”. In a broader statement, he called the Netflix documentary a “shameful hit piece” that relied on “stolen footage”. Netflix has responded, saying the footage was “legally obtained” and that the project “is not a hit piece or an act of retribution”.
Aubrey O’Day’s Account of Working with Combs
Aubrey O’Day, a former member of the girl group Danity Kane which was formed on Combs’s TV show Making the Band, shares her experience in the documentary. O’Day reads a sexually explicit email she says Combs sent to her in 2008, the year she was fired from the group. In the documentary, she states she believes she was fired for refusing a sexual relationship with her boss.
A more disturbing moment comes when O’Day reads from an affidavit filed in a civil lawsuit against Combs. The document, from an alleged victim, describes a 2005 incident where the woman says she witnessed Combs and another man sexually assaulting an incapacitated O’Day. O’Day says she has no memory of the event.
“Does this mean I was raped? Is that what this means? I don’t even know if I was raped, and I don’t want to know,” O’Day says in the documentary.
Director Alexandria Stapleton described O’Day’s story as symbolizing the “gray area” of these complex allegations.
Details on the “Freak Offs” from a Sex Worker’s Perspective
One of the most detailed accounts in the series comes from Clayton Howard, who identifies himself as a former sex worker allegedly hired by Combs. Howard describes what he calls “freak offs,” which were sexual encounters involving Combs, his then-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, and Howard himself.
Howard says he was first hired in 2009 and that the encounters lasted for about eight years. He provides specific details, stating that some of these multi-day encounters were scheduled around the anniversary of the murder of rapper The Notorious B.I.G., a close friend of Combs. Howard told filmmakers he came forward to “own his narrative” after being named in Ventura’s lawsuit.
Ventura, who settled a lawsuit against Combs in November 2023 accusing him of abuse, testified during his trial that she felt pressured into these acts. She declined to participate in the documentary series.
Jurors from the Federal Trial Speak Publicly
The documentary includes interviews with two members of the jury that decided Combs’s federal criminal case. Combs was on trial facing charges including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. In July, he was acquitted of the most serious charges but was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was sentenced to four years in prison in October 2025 and is currently serving his sentence.
One juror, identified as Juror 75, shared his thoughts on the testimony from Cassie Ventura, questioning why she stayed in the relationship if it was abusive. Another, Juror 160, recalled watching Combs’s demeanor during the trial and her reaction to the final verdict.
“When we were in the deliberation room, and we’ve come to an agreement… my words exactly were, ‘Oh, s—,’” Juror 160 said.
50 Cent’s Role and the Feud Behind the Documentary
Executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has had a public feud with Combs for nearly two decades. He announced he was developing a documentary about the allegations against Combs in December 2023. In interviews, Jackson has said he felt compelled to be involved.
“If I didn’t say anything, you would interpret it as that hip-hop is fine with his behaviors,” Jackson said on Good Morning America.
He also stated that proceeds from the project would go to victims of sexual misconduct. Combs’s team has cited Jackson’s involvement as evidence of bias, calling him a “longtime adversary with a personal vendetta”. Director Alexandria Stapleton acknowledged Jackson’s history with Combs but said he brought useful access to the project. She emphasized that Jackson did not have creative control over the final film.
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A Look Back at the Murders of Tupac and Biggie Smalls
The documentary also revisits the deadly 1990s hip-hop rivalry between the East Coast and West Coast, which led to the murders of rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace). Combs discovered Biggie Smalls and signed him to Bad Boy Records. The series reportedly presents new information and angles on these unsolved cases.
A particularly controversial claim comes from Kirk Burrowes, the co-founder of Bad Boy Entertainment. Burrowes says that after Biggie’s murder in 1997, Combs wanted to throw a massive funeral but did not want to pay for it himself. According to Burrowes, Combs made the funeral expenses a recoupable charge against Biggie Smalls’s own estate, meaning the rapper’s family and estate ultimately bore the cost.
The docuseries “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” is now streaming in its entirety on Netflix. It features interviews with other former associates, including Bad Boy artist Mark Curry, former assistant Capricorn Clark, and others who were in Combs’s orbit. Combs’s legal team sent a cease and desist letter to Netflix the day before the series premiered, but the streamer moved forward with the release.
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Credits: NBC News, Netflix Tudum
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