One of the biggest questions raised after the release of Netflix’s “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” is how 50 Cent and the streamer obtained behind-the-scenes footage of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in the days leading up to his arrest.
Combs’ personal videographer, Michael Oberlies, spoke out this week to shut down online speculation that there was a “fee dispute or contract issue” between him and the disgraced mogul.
Oberlies explained the footage in the doc was actually released by a temporary freelancer who had been hired to cover for him for a few days.
“For over two years, we have been working on a project profiling Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs,” Oberlies told Rolling Stone in a statement. “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.”
Oberlies, who did not name the “third party” in question, added: “This incident had nothing to do with any fee dispute or contract issue. 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.”
A rep for Combs condemned the four-part documentary as ‘a shameful hit piece’ that depended on ‘stolen footage’ and was ‘fundamentally unfair and illegal.’” The spokesperson added that the material was “never authorized for release” to Netflix or to 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson.
Meanwhile, 50 Cent, who served as an executive producer, along with director Alexandria Stapleton and Netflix, have maintained that the footage was “legally obtained.”
“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,” Netflix said in a statement adding, “Curtis Jackson is an executive producer but does not have creative control. No one was paid to participate.”
Stapleton echoed a similar sentiment assuring that “It came to us, we obtained the footage legally and have the necessary rights. We moved heaven and earth to keep the filmmaker’s identity confidential.”
She added: “One thing about Sean Combs is that he’s always filming himself, and it’s been an obsession throughout the decades. We also reached out to Sean Combs’ legal team for an interview and comment multiple times, but did not hear back.”
In a “Good Morning America” interview, 50 Cent shared his reason for backing the documentary.
“If I didn’t say anything, you would interpret it as that hip-hop is fine with his behaviors. There’s no one else being vocal,” 50 Cent told Robin Roberts. “So, you would look at it and just say … ‘mind your business,’ or ‘lemme not say nothin’ about nothin’,’ or those things that would allow an entire culture to register as if they’re for that behavior.”
Combs is currently serving his 50-month prison sentence after being found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution.
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