December 2, 2025 • 24 mins
Despite a cease and desist order from Diddy’s legal team, Netflix has released its 4 part series on Sean Combs, produced by his long time rival Curtis Jackson, aka “50 Cent.” Amy and T.J. watched the first episode, and the moment it begins, its clear, we are seeing Diddy like never before, days before his arrest, trying to manage his attorneys and the bad press that he describes as like taking “8 nuclear bombs to the head.”
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, folks, it is Tuesday, December second, the day that
finally the much talked about fifty cent produced Diddy documentary
hit Netflix. Hurry up and watch it because it might
be gone at any moment. And with that, welcome to
this episode of Amy and TJ. I say it might
be gone because did he wants it gone? They want
(00:23):
this thing. They've been talking about it, but they sent
a cease and desist to Netflix and said, don't put
this up. Netflix ripped up that cease and desist.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Apparently, yes, they didn't seem to be bothered at all
by it, because as promised at midnight Tuesday morning, twelve
oh one, it was available for all to see. Four parts.
They're sixty minutes each, and we've gotten through the first one.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Yeah, and I don't know what to say it. I
don't know how seriously. I'm not of a legal mind
or anything like that. I don't imagine if they didn't
take it down. They can't be that fearful of it,
or it's worth the risk, because everybody's talking about this
soccer today. Everybody's been talking might for quite some time.
And I guess the centerpiece of the point of them
wanting to take it down, is that you all are
using footage that you all don't have the right to use,
(01:09):
that you actually even stole and robes. It is the
most fascinating part of at least the first episode that
we've seen.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
That's right. The entire series starts out with that footage,
and so it starts out with a bang. Because you
are hearing and watching Sean Comb's six days before he's arrested.
You can see that he seems panicked, that he is
very emotionally fraught, and he is speaking urgently and even
(01:41):
maybe fiercely with his attorneys.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Now, yeah, the attorney in particular his superstar attorney, Mark Agnafilo,
that put on a show by all accounts and get
this man from possible life in prison to I guess
the three years or four is it fifty fifty months
that he's ultimately going to do. But the documentary, it
got so much attention. There have been a lot quite frankly, hell,
TMZ has done a documentary. Everybody's done a documentary on Diddy.
(02:07):
It seems there are others you can find on streaming services.
But Rose it was because of fifty Cents involvement, and
he has been trolling Didty Since the first bottle of
baby oil got found before he was arrested, he's been
sending out social media whatnot. These two have been adversaries
kind of publicly in the rap game for a long time,
(02:28):
but his involvement had people's attention really into.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Correct because they question, and certainly we've now heard from
Sean Combs and his lawyer's question the motive and not
even question it, but directly accuse the motive here for
this documentary that it is a smear campaign, a hit
piece on Ditty, and that was the agenda from start
to finish, according to Ditty's camp.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
On a side note here, we'll get back into this,
but did you feel that initially the first episode one
felt like a hit piece of it?
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Did not? Didn't to me either, It did not feel
like a hit piece at all. In fact, look, you
have followed Sean Combe's career from the beginning. I have not,
and so I was learning things that you already were
very familiar with. I actually was fascinated by it and
felt like I was getting a deeper better understanding of
(03:20):
what led to what we all saw in court, the
spectacle that it was this past summer. I felt already
just with the first episode that I have a better
understanding of him.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
And I guess what they are saying. They have some
new or never before heard or seen interviews people sharing,
but a lot of it so far is a rehash
of a lot of what we do know about his
life and hearing from some people we're familiar with. But
there are some new interviews. But this is the Reckoning.
They called it Sean Combs. The Reckoning came out today,
produced by fifty Cent, directed by this woman's got some
(03:54):
great credentials, Alexandria Staple Doone. She is a documentary filmmaker
who has done some significant work over the years. This
is a four part series sixty minutes each, so it's
very digestible. But that's why it's a big deal, because
of fifteen, because of who else is in it robes
the Diddy statement. Look, I think it's been a part
(04:16):
from the very beginning of the trial, didn't he or
I think got in trouble during the trial because I
found out his kids he was directing his kids to
do something on social media.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yes, for his birthday. He look and you see this
a little bit in this footage that they have where
he is very aware and this is brilliant on his
part because he gets it if you lose your PR campaign,
if you lose the battle for public opinion, you lose.
And so he was very aware of this. So he was,
(04:46):
according to people who were accusing him of staging, having
his kids do things for him on behalf of him
to make him look good or better in the public's
eye along on social media.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yeah, and that makes sense, it does.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
This makes sense.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
I screamed out to you in the next room or something.
I said. He's smart because he said something in the
beginning in the back and forth with his lawyer about
his lawyer seemed relieved. Almost, Hey, it's September. You haven't
been indicted, right, and I'm watching all these news outlets
and and and everything. Nobody seems to be talking about it.
Diddy said, you're in the wrong place. It's nine billion
people on Earth, seven billion dollar Instagram, and not just
(05:23):
watching CNN. You're looking at the wrong audience and being
concerned about us winning or losing a PR battle. I
heard that, like, damn yeah, good point.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
And he was right. And he's flat out told Mark Agnefilo,
we're losing, and he was angry and he wanted them.
He said, look, I'm paying you all. You figure it out.
I'm not going to sit here and tell you what
to do. You all communicate better with one another, you
get a better strategy, and then you tell me what
we're gonna do.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
So this that video at the beginning, and it goes
a full two minutes, and I'm not sure how much
is going to be throughout the rest of the series,
but that two minutes, you're hooked, You're you're in. We
are talking about folks, that hotel where he was arrested.
He this video shows him in that hotel days before
that arrest, on the phone, making plans on a bike,
(06:11):
rolling through the streets of New York City. It is
incredible to see, yes, what was happening.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
And look, I didn't realize this about him. And this
is a part of their issue because they said, hey,
Shaw Combs has been basically chronicling his life, videoing his
life since he was nineteen. He's always had a plan
to have his own documentary about his own life, and
so there were always cameras following him. So that was
what was so interesting to me. At a one of
(06:38):
his darkest moments, his most frightening moments, the days leading
up to his arrest, where he didn't know what was
going to happen. He had the wherewithal, the forethought to
have someone documenting everything, the good, the bad, the ugly.
I was taken by the fact that the videographer whoever
was behind that camera swung around and from his hotel
room window you could see police officers on rooftops seemingly
(07:02):
monitoring gulps to make sure they knew where he was
coming and going. I did not realize that he had
that level of surveillance going on that.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
First two minutes, I'm blown away. There's a moment where
he's standing outside where you actually it was the first
time you see maybe some real concern and pain from
him as he's talking about just a desperation, desperation like
this is bullshit, is what he said. I gotta deal
with this shit. And he actually seemed weary and worn
and not ready for another fight, So that the first
(07:36):
two minutes are absolutely fascinating with what's.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Going on, Yes, and so we get to actually it's
almost as if you were there you wondered what it
was like for him. You actually are along with him.
You feel like you're along the ride with him in
those moments leading up to his arrest, and you feel
his deep concern his I felt like he was almost panicked. Look,
he's a cool cucumber, you can see that, but there
(08:00):
was this bubbling panic that was there that you could
see and feel and witness as you saw him go
about his day and yet still stopping to take selfies
with folks who were all trying to get their picture
with him, and he was actually very accommodating.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Oh yeah, yeah, I mean, you're still friendly, smiling and everything.
I just wonder where those pictures ended up. You know,
those guys had no idea.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
I thought about that. They couldn't imagine. They couldn't have
known at the time that they were getting one of
the last selfies ever of Diddy before he was ultimately
arrested and put away for years and years and years.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Last possible selfies for you careers that are possible with Diddy.
They got them and had no idea they did. His
rep put out a statement today talking about that particular footage.
So that's the question. Robes. This is his personal videographer
in that hotel room with him, how in the hell
does Netflix get the rights to that video? Who owns it?
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Well, that's the question. The logical thing I mean in
the place I jump to is that the videographer ended
up saying this is mine, these are my this is
my footage. I took it, I creatively recorded it, so
it's my footage to then sell or give to whomever
I want. But I don't know what the legality behind
(09:18):
all of that is. Obviously, Netflix's lawyers and Fiddy Sens
lawyers obviously felt like they had the right to purchase
or secure the rights to that video.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Or is worth the risk or it was worth the risk?
Speaker 2 (09:32):
But what it be worth the risk?
Speaker 1 (09:34):
I don't know. How much can you get sued for?
What is the risk hourses reward with this thing that
everybody is talking about right now and watching. How many
streams are worth it, how many new subscriptions are worth it?
I do not know, but maybe they made some kind
of balance. Any photographer, anybody who's had experience with this.
You hire a photographer, Yes, they're taking your pictures, but
(09:55):
the pictures are still theirs. They own the rights to
them unless you buy those rights. I can't imagine that
Diddy having this person in his hotel room has not
already arranged a deal that all of that stuff is his.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Maybe he hadn't paid him yet. Maybe he had plans
to do it, and then he got arrested and it
fell through the cracks and he didn't think to compensate
the videographer and someone else did.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
So it's fascinating. We're going back and forth. If you
give a scenario, now I'm giving one. Now I'm thinking
of another one. You'll think like, oh, maybe this, maybe this.
You're right. I have no idea how this could have
gone down. But they sent out a message to everybody
letting them know that they didn't agree with what Netflix
was doing. They called it a shameful hit piece. They
said this stolen footage was never authorized for release. Uh,
(10:42):
we go on here, I'll move down here, they said, Netflix,
here it is. I guess this is what I was referencing, Robes.
Netflix is plainly desperate to sensationalize every minute of mister
Colem's life without regard for truth, in order to capitalize
on a never ending media frenzy. I mean, there's probably
some truth in that statement. Yes, it's probably a lot
(11:04):
of truth. Yes, it does seem like a never ending
media frenzy.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Yes, And they went on to say if Netflix cared
about truth or about mister Combe's legal rights, it would
not be ripping private footage out of context, including conversations
with his lawyers that were never intended for public viewing.
No rights, and that material were ever transferred to Netflix
or any third party. And that is interesting because when
(11:30):
you have a conversation with your lawyer, that is protected.
So that is interesting how they felt comfortable legally exposing
a conversation that clearly is protected under the law.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
We're talking to a lawyer later today about a different case.
I want to ask that question. I think, how is
it possible you could ever be in possession of somebody's
private conversation with their lawyer and you have the right
to broadcast.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
It because you're in the public domain, because there.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Is a domain.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
I'm just I know, I know, I'm trying to think
in my head, like, is it because of you know,
I know that public figures, obviously we've learned this the
hard way, have very different legal standards they have to
meet versus private citizens when it comes to privacy. But
I did believe that regardless of who you are. No
matter how big of a name you are, you have
(12:17):
a protection under the law to have private conversations with
certain people priests, therapists, maybe your doctor and your lawyer.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
And you hear Agnafilol's voice. It's not just the one
sided you hear a full conversation. I am fascinated by
this legal back this one part of this film. Like
they mentioned this as well and Diddy's statement, and this
is important they acknowledge. It is equally staggering that Netflix
handed creative control to Curtis fifty cent Jackson, a long
(12:48):
time adversary with a personal mendetta who has spent too
much time slandering mister Combs. I don't know how much
control he was given, but it seems like he was.
But it is a is it Joyce?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Yes? Yes, And he said beyond the legal issues, this
is a personal breach of trust. Mister Combs has long
respected Ted Surrandos, that is the head of Netflix, correct
and admired the legacy of Clarence Avante. I don't know
how to say that last name. I just want to
make sure I didn't say it wrong. But for Netflix
to give his life story to someone who has publicly
(13:23):
attacked him for decades. Feels like an unnecessary and deeply
personal affront. At minimum, he expected fairness from the people
he respected.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Yeah, why it seemed And someone pointed out another article
why he seemed to want to go out of his
way to like call out or speak to or say
something about the Netflix ceo, Like why it was important too.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Maybe they had had a previous relationship. But you know,
to his point about Curtis Jackson about fifty cent, I
thought it was interesting someone put up on their coverage
of this back and forth that just take a look
at what Jackson put on his Instagram to promote this piece.
He said Netflix has concerned their server may not be
(14:09):
able to handle everyone watching at once at twelve am
Eastern time it goes live. And then put a movie
check me out, he wrote, with you know, a little
emoji for a like a film whatever when you mark
a film. But he's excited, he's promoting it. I mean,
it's this is his baby he's been working on. But
(14:29):
no acknowledgment at all of the reaction from did he side.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Look, they got everybody talking right now, and isn't that
half the battle? He got people talking about it without
even having a lift of finger.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Were you impressed with I know that there have been
other documentaries, but the amount of people and the people
so close to Diddy who agreed to be a part
of this, you.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Know what, I don't know. I've seen a lot of documentaries.
I've seen a lot about him over the years, to
where there's very little eye here that's new or shocking,
and so it just episode one. I mean, you have victim.
We've heard victim stories for years, and some of the
victims in here we have heard their names come up before,
so there's nothing new. But it's just fascinating that first
two minutes I told you, I said, we can't have
(15:12):
this on in the background while we're doing other work
because we're going to be focused so much on this
documentary and so no, but for folks, you made the
point I have. This guy's been in my life since
I was in junior high school, someone that I absolutely admired,
looked up to, was impressed by, and absolutely was completely
(15:35):
honored the first time I got to meet him. I
can't tell you how much this dude has been a
part of my those years from junior high on everything
and so to see this, you see a hero. You
see a really impressive kid bringing him up from nothing
story to where you if you don't know him, you'll
(15:56):
watch this and go cheez.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Well, that's right, that's it. That's what I'm I mean,
I'm watching him. He was a hustler. But then to
hear the backstory, and I should say, the allegations about
how he was raised by his mother, what his father
was like, and who his father was, and how he
came up and how he was kind of nerdy and
goofy and became what he was, And it was all
(16:19):
through his own He went from being the intern to
being so powerful and so talented that he was fired
because they were concerned about him taking over the whole
damn place.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
That's impressive.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
That's impressive, right, it just is.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
And it seems where to praise him after he's been
in prison for what we've seen him do even but
I guess that's it. It makes the story even sadder.
Like Jesus Christ, it was a sad childhood. It was
a just sad upbringing that contributed to.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
A warped sense of what's right.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
But he was talented enough to make it to change music.
Oh my goodness. Well, folks, stay with us here, because
we talk about this footage, this stolen footage so much. Well,
how exactly does netflick explain how they're able to use
the footage? We hear the statement from the director of
this new Diddy documentary. Stay here, we picked back up
(17:19):
here about the Uh. I guess it's the documentary that
everybody's talking about, and we're talking about it now, The
Reckoning Sean Combs. The Reckoning is what is officially called
on Netflix fifty cent produced. It just dropped today. Everybody's
talking and cease and desist from Diddy's team wanting them
to not air this thing. They went ahead and did
it anyway, and particularly because of some what they say
(17:40):
is stolen footage. But it's pretty intimate footage. It is
footage that is in the hotel room with Diddy before
he's arrested in days.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Talking to his lawyers they have which seems like a
protected conversation. I don't know, you know what was interesting
to me. I was learning a lot of things about
him that I did not know. And I think a
lot of people are in my camp. They know his music,
they know his reputation, and certainly they followed the trial,
but to go all the way back and look, there's
a lot more to learn, because I still want to
(18:13):
watch all three. We've only seen the first one. But
this notion of him being a paper gangster, had you
heard that before, Well, it's.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
A guy who some people got crid and some people
got clout and some people have respect based on things
they gathered from reputation, being quite frankly on the street.
He amassed his power in a boardroom, in an office,
and a guy was trying to make that connection, but
(18:40):
he had this. He ends up. He's got a street connections,
don't get me wrong, But he became that hustler, that
gangster because of what he did in an office.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
And isn't part of in this They get into this
in later episodes, but isn't part of the beef between
fifty cent and Diddy. This whole back and forth West Coast,
East Coast, Tupac. There are all these allegations about any
role that he may have played in his death and
all of that where they said he was maybe a
(19:11):
paper gangster who thought he was a street gangster who
then got confused. And that was a little bit of
what I saw teased, and you're laughing because you know
the story and I don't know anything. I'm like following along,
like you know, just soaking it up because I don't know.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
It is classic hip hop history, and it absolutely was
a part of putting hip hop on the map. East
Coast versus West Coast, Tupac versus Biggie Sug versus Puffy,
this is what it was. And I remember Sug at
a awards show excepting an award, he said, yeah, come
over to the West Coast if you want to do
(19:46):
music and you don't want your producer all up into videos,
like he was taking a direct shot. This is how
we do it. We're the real gangsters. You in a
hot tub, drinking champagne, talking about you this and that.
That set it all up. So, yes, he was that guy. Man,
that's fine, But he wasn't necessarily chasing street cred a
way a lot of rappers necessarily did. But that beef
(20:08):
that he was in the center of the biggest explosion
of hip hop that we've ever seen.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Yeah, and to hear how you know, all of these parties,
all of these freak offs that we heard so much
about during the trial. To think that perhaps the inspiration
for them came in part from his own mother.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
They made that connection.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
That was jaw dropping to me.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
They made that connection. Is that fair? Is that right?
I don't know, but they certainly did in the documentary.
I'm sure he didn't appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
I'm sure his mother didn't appreciate that either. They made
a point to say they reached out to her in
oh shocking. She didn't want to participate or react at
all to what they were putting out there. But yeah,
they went there and they drew that connection. And I
hadn't heard that before.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
No, but his mom has been I mean she's there
every day of the trial, every single might be the
only one that did not miss a day in his family, possibly,
but she's always been right there next to him. Yeah,
there have always been those stories, but she did what
she did to raise that child. There's a lot of
people struggling and doing what they have to do in
(21:07):
all kinds of places, and you there are folks who
will see this story and relate to and go, wow,
no excuse, but it helps you understand maybe his mindset
a little better.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
It certainly did me and I and I find it
to be fascinating. Do you actually think though, like at
this point they've already put it out, they already had
the threats. Of course, I'm sure they already knew that
Diddy's team was going to seek legal action to try.
But the idea that they would take it down or
that seems far fetched to it.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
You'd have to be ordered to do so. Probably at
this point, no threat of a lawsuit's going to do it.
That they would have to be ordered to do so. So, So, yeah,
how did they do this? This is the director we
talked about just a short time ago. Again, she has
great credits, so this is not just somebody they plucked
off the street, Alexandria Stapleton. But the statement from her
at least how they were able to use this footage quote,
(21:57):
it came to us where we obtained the footage legally
and have the necessary rights. Didn't go into much explanation after.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
That, Nope, But it seemed like, honestly, by not going
to explanation, it feels like they feel very confident about
where they stand legally.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Or they're trying to be careful about getting into more
trouble legally by saying as little as possible.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Yeah, The next line, though, was very interesting to me.
She went on to say, we moved heaven and earth
to keep the filmmaker's identity confidential. That's the videographer.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Who else is the film? Right? It has to be
so did he knows who it is? There was one
other guy in the room. They know who it is. Obviously,
if did he seize that footage, he knows it got
from that videographer's hand to where and how? Or did
it was all this stuff in Diddy's possession. Did he
have this stuff and in some kind of way somebody
(22:55):
stole it and it got out? Either way, did he
didn't authorize it? Who?
Speaker 2 (23:00):
She goes on to say, 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 Shawn
Comb's legal team for an interview and comment multiple times,
but did not hear back.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
Just wait, he's probably he'll probably get around to it.
I don't understand that either. She kind of made a
pivot and started talking about something else. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
She kind of trashed him. She was kind of saying
his own ego, his own hubris his own need to
document everything about his life is what got us this
footage in the first place, so it kind of was
like blaming him for the fact that they have this
footage to begin with.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
How soon before you want to do episode two?
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Well, I think as soon as we watch the second
episode if they're I mean, look, I don't know. To
your point, I'll be learning things probably every minute. I'll
be curious to see what you if you learn anything
beyond what you already have heard or seen.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Well, folks, check it out. We were joking at the
top kinda that you should probably go ahead and watch
it before it comes down, But as of now that
thing is up. There's no indication, no word from Netflix
that they're even giving us a thought about not leaving
it up on their streaming service. So check it out, folks.
We always appreciate you spending some time with us. Swimmer.
Dear Amy Robot, I'm TJ. Holmes will talk to y'all
(24:23):
realson
Hey, folks, it is Tuesday, December second, the day that
finally the much talked about fifty cent produced Diddy documentary
hit Netflix. Hurry up and watch it because it might
be gone at any moment. And with that, welcome to
this episode of Amy and TJ. I say it might
be gone because did he wants it gone? They want
(00:23):
this thing. They've been talking about it, but they sent
a cease and desist to Netflix and said, don't put
this up. Netflix ripped up that cease and desist.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Apparently, yes, they didn't seem to be bothered at all
by it, because as promised at midnight Tuesday morning, twelve
oh one, it was available for all to see. Four parts.
They're sixty minutes each, and we've gotten through the first one.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Yeah, and I don't know what to say it. I
don't know how seriously. I'm not of a legal mind
or anything like that. I don't imagine if they didn't
take it down. They can't be that fearful of it,
or it's worth the risk, because everybody's talking about this
soccer today. Everybody's been talking might for quite some time.
And I guess the centerpiece of the point of them
wanting to take it down, is that you all are
using footage that you all don't have the right to use,
(01:09):
that you actually even stole and robes. It is the
most fascinating part of at least the first episode that
we've seen.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
That's right. The entire series starts out with that footage,
and so it starts out with a bang. Because you
are hearing and watching Sean Comb's six days before he's arrested.
You can see that he seems panicked, that he is
very emotionally fraught, and he is speaking urgently and even
(01:41):
maybe fiercely with his attorneys.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Now, yeah, the attorney in particular his superstar attorney, Mark Agnafilo,
that put on a show by all accounts and get
this man from possible life in prison to I guess
the three years or four is it fifty fifty months
that he's ultimately going to do. But the documentary, it
got so much attention. There have been a lot quite frankly, hell,
TMZ has done a documentary. Everybody's done a documentary on Diddy.
(02:07):
It seems there are others you can find on streaming services.
But Rose it was because of fifty Cents involvement, and
he has been trolling Didty Since the first bottle of
baby oil got found before he was arrested, he's been
sending out social media whatnot. These two have been adversaries
kind of publicly in the rap game for a long time,
(02:28):
but his involvement had people's attention really into.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Correct because they question, and certainly we've now heard from
Sean Combs and his lawyer's question the motive and not
even question it, but directly accuse the motive here for
this documentary that it is a smear campaign, a hit
piece on Ditty, and that was the agenda from start
to finish, according to Ditty's camp.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
On a side note here, we'll get back into this,
but did you feel that initially the first episode one
felt like a hit piece of it?
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Did not? Didn't to me either, It did not feel
like a hit piece at all. In fact, look, you
have followed Sean Combe's career from the beginning. I have not,
and so I was learning things that you already were
very familiar with. I actually was fascinated by it and
felt like I was getting a deeper better understanding of
(03:20):
what led to what we all saw in court, the
spectacle that it was this past summer. I felt already
just with the first episode that I have a better
understanding of him.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
And I guess what they are saying. They have some
new or never before heard or seen interviews people sharing,
but a lot of it so far is a rehash
of a lot of what we do know about his
life and hearing from some people we're familiar with. But
there are some new interviews. But this is the Reckoning.
They called it Sean Combs. The Reckoning came out today,
produced by fifty Cent, directed by this woman's got some
(03:54):
great credentials, Alexandria Staple Doone. She is a documentary filmmaker
who has done some significant work over the years. This
is a four part series sixty minutes each, so it's
very digestible. But that's why it's a big deal, because
of fifteen, because of who else is in it robes
the Diddy statement. Look, I think it's been a part
(04:16):
from the very beginning of the trial, didn't he or
I think got in trouble during the trial because I
found out his kids he was directing his kids to
do something on social media.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yes, for his birthday. He look and you see this
a little bit in this footage that they have where
he is very aware and this is brilliant on his
part because he gets it if you lose your PR campaign,
if you lose the battle for public opinion, you lose.
And so he was very aware of this. So he was,
(04:46):
according to people who were accusing him of staging, having
his kids do things for him on behalf of him
to make him look good or better in the public's
eye along on social media.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yeah, and that makes sense, it does.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
This makes sense.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
I screamed out to you in the next room or something.
I said. He's smart because he said something in the
beginning in the back and forth with his lawyer about
his lawyer seemed relieved. Almost, Hey, it's September. You haven't
been indicted, right, and I'm watching all these news outlets
and and and everything. Nobody seems to be talking about it.
Diddy said, you're in the wrong place. It's nine billion
people on Earth, seven billion dollar Instagram, and not just
(05:23):
watching CNN. You're looking at the wrong audience and being
concerned about us winning or losing a PR battle. I
heard that, like, damn yeah, good point.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
And he was right. And he's flat out told Mark Agnefilo,
we're losing, and he was angry and he wanted them.
He said, look, I'm paying you all. You figure it out.
I'm not going to sit here and tell you what
to do. You all communicate better with one another, you
get a better strategy, and then you tell me what
we're gonna do.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
So this that video at the beginning, and it goes
a full two minutes, and I'm not sure how much
is going to be throughout the rest of the series,
but that two minutes, you're hooked, You're you're in. We
are talking about folks, that hotel where he was arrested.
He this video shows him in that hotel days before
that arrest, on the phone, making plans on a bike,
(06:11):
rolling through the streets of New York City. It is
incredible to see, yes, what was happening.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
And look, I didn't realize this about him. And this
is a part of their issue because they said, hey,
Shaw Combs has been basically chronicling his life, videoing his
life since he was nineteen. He's always had a plan
to have his own documentary about his own life, and
so there were always cameras following him. So that was
what was so interesting to me. At a one of
(06:38):
his darkest moments, his most frightening moments, the days leading
up to his arrest, where he didn't know what was
going to happen. He had the wherewithal, the forethought to
have someone documenting everything, the good, the bad, the ugly.
I was taken by the fact that the videographer whoever
was behind that camera swung around and from his hotel
room window you could see police officers on rooftops seemingly
(07:02):
monitoring gulps to make sure they knew where he was
coming and going. I did not realize that he had
that level of surveillance going on that.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
First two minutes, I'm blown away. There's a moment where
he's standing outside where you actually it was the first
time you see maybe some real concern and pain from
him as he's talking about just a desperation, desperation like
this is bullshit, is what he said. I gotta deal
with this shit. And he actually seemed weary and worn
and not ready for another fight, So that the first
(07:36):
two minutes are absolutely fascinating with what's.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Going on, Yes, and so we get to actually it's
almost as if you were there you wondered what it
was like for him. You actually are along with him.
You feel like you're along the ride with him in
those moments leading up to his arrest, and you feel
his deep concern his I felt like he was almost panicked. Look,
he's a cool cucumber, you can see that, but there
(08:00):
was this bubbling panic that was there that you could
see and feel and witness as you saw him go
about his day and yet still stopping to take selfies
with folks who were all trying to get their picture
with him, and he was actually very accommodating.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Oh yeah, yeah, I mean, you're still friendly, smiling and everything.
I just wonder where those pictures ended up. You know,
those guys had no idea.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
I thought about that. They couldn't imagine. They couldn't have
known at the time that they were getting one of
the last selfies ever of Diddy before he was ultimately
arrested and put away for years and years and years.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Last possible selfies for you careers that are possible with Diddy.
They got them and had no idea they did. His
rep put out a statement today talking about that particular footage.
So that's the question. Robes. This is his personal videographer
in that hotel room with him, how in the hell
does Netflix get the rights to that video? Who owns it?
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Well, that's the question. The logical thing I mean in
the place I jump to is that the videographer ended
up saying this is mine, these are my this is
my footage. I took it, I creatively recorded it, so
it's my footage to then sell or give to whomever
I want. But I don't know what the legality behind
(09:18):
all of that is. Obviously, Netflix's lawyers and Fiddy Sens
lawyers obviously felt like they had the right to purchase
or secure the rights to that video.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Or is worth the risk or it was worth the risk?
Speaker 2 (09:32):
But what it be worth the risk?
Speaker 1 (09:34):
I don't know. How much can you get sued for?
What is the risk hourses reward with this thing that
everybody is talking about right now and watching. How many
streams are worth it, how many new subscriptions are worth it?
I do not know, but maybe they made some kind
of balance. Any photographer, anybody who's had experience with this.
You hire a photographer, Yes, they're taking your pictures, but
(09:55):
the pictures are still theirs. They own the rights to
them unless you buy those rights. I can't imagine that
Diddy having this person in his hotel room has not
already arranged a deal that all of that stuff is his.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Maybe he hadn't paid him yet. Maybe he had plans
to do it, and then he got arrested and it
fell through the cracks and he didn't think to compensate
the videographer and someone else did.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
So it's fascinating. We're going back and forth. If you
give a scenario, now I'm giving one. Now I'm thinking
of another one. You'll think like, oh, maybe this, maybe this.
You're right. I have no idea how this could have
gone down. But they sent out a message to everybody
letting them know that they didn't agree with what Netflix
was doing. They called it a shameful hit piece. They
said this stolen footage was never authorized for release. Uh,
(10:42):
we go on here, I'll move down here, they said, Netflix,
here it is. I guess this is what I was referencing, Robes.
Netflix is plainly desperate to sensationalize every minute of mister
Colem's life without regard for truth, in order to capitalize
on a never ending media frenzy. I mean, there's probably
some truth in that statement. Yes, it's probably a lot
(11:04):
of truth. Yes, it does seem like a never ending
media frenzy.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Yes, And they went on to say if Netflix cared
about truth or about mister Combe's legal rights, it would
not be ripping private footage out of context, including conversations
with his lawyers that were never intended for public viewing.
No rights, and that material were ever transferred to Netflix
or any third party. And that is interesting because when
(11:30):
you have a conversation with your lawyer, that is protected.
So that is interesting how they felt comfortable legally exposing
a conversation that clearly is protected under the law.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
We're talking to a lawyer later today about a different case.
I want to ask that question. I think, how is
it possible you could ever be in possession of somebody's
private conversation with their lawyer and you have the right
to broadcast.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
It because you're in the public domain, because there.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Is a domain.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
I'm just I know, I know, I'm trying to think
in my head, like, is it because of you know,
I know that public figures, obviously we've learned this the
hard way, have very different legal standards they have to
meet versus private citizens when it comes to privacy. But
I did believe that regardless of who you are. No
matter how big of a name you are, you have
(12:17):
a protection under the law to have private conversations with
certain people priests, therapists, maybe your doctor and your lawyer.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
And you hear Agnafilol's voice. It's not just the one
sided you hear a full conversation. I am fascinated by
this legal back this one part of this film. Like
they mentioned this as well and Diddy's statement, and this
is important they acknowledge. It is equally staggering that Netflix
handed creative control to Curtis fifty cent Jackson, a long
(12:48):
time adversary with a personal mendetta who has spent too
much time slandering mister Combs. I don't know how much
control he was given, but it seems like he was.
But it is a is it Joyce?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Yes? Yes, And he said beyond the legal issues, this
is a personal breach of trust. Mister Combs has long
respected Ted Surrandos, that is the head of Netflix, correct
and admired the legacy of Clarence Avante. I don't know
how to say that last name. I just want to
make sure I didn't say it wrong. But for Netflix
to give his life story to someone who has publicly
(13:23):
attacked him for decades. Feels like an unnecessary and deeply
personal affront. At minimum, he expected fairness from the people
he respected.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Yeah, why it seemed And someone pointed out another article
why he seemed to want to go out of his
way to like call out or speak to or say
something about the Netflix ceo, Like why it was important too.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Maybe they had had a previous relationship. But you know,
to his point about Curtis Jackson about fifty cent, I
thought it was interesting someone put up on their coverage
of this back and forth that just take a look
at what Jackson put on his Instagram to promote this piece.
He said Netflix has concerned their server may not be
(14:09):
able to handle everyone watching at once at twelve am
Eastern time it goes live. And then put a movie
check me out, he wrote, with you know, a little
emoji for a like a film whatever when you mark
a film. But he's excited, he's promoting it. I mean,
it's this is his baby he's been working on. But
(14:29):
no acknowledgment at all of the reaction from did he side.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Look, they got everybody talking right now, and isn't that
half the battle? He got people talking about it without
even having a lift of finger.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Were you impressed with I know that there have been
other documentaries, but the amount of people and the people
so close to Diddy who agreed to be a part
of this, you.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Know what, I don't know. I've seen a lot of documentaries.
I've seen a lot about him over the years, to
where there's very little eye here that's new or shocking,
and so it just episode one. I mean, you have victim.
We've heard victim stories for years, and some of the
victims in here we have heard their names come up before,
so there's nothing new. But it's just fascinating that first
two minutes I told you, I said, we can't have
(15:12):
this on in the background while we're doing other work
because we're going to be focused so much on this
documentary and so no, but for folks, you made the
point I have. This guy's been in my life since
I was in junior high school, someone that I absolutely admired,
looked up to, was impressed by, and absolutely was completely
(15:35):
honored the first time I got to meet him. I
can't tell you how much this dude has been a
part of my those years from junior high on everything
and so to see this, you see a hero. You
see a really impressive kid bringing him up from nothing
story to where you if you don't know him, you'll
(15:56):
watch this and go cheez.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Well, that's right, that's it. That's what I'm I mean,
I'm watching him. He was a hustler. But then to
hear the backstory, and I should say, the allegations about
how he was raised by his mother, what his father
was like, and who his father was, and how he
came up and how he was kind of nerdy and
goofy and became what he was, And it was all
(16:19):
through his own He went from being the intern to
being so powerful and so talented that he was fired
because they were concerned about him taking over the whole
damn place.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
That's impressive.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
That's impressive, right, it just is.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
And it seems where to praise him after he's been
in prison for what we've seen him do even but
I guess that's it. It makes the story even sadder.
Like Jesus Christ, it was a sad childhood. It was
a just sad upbringing that contributed to.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
A warped sense of what's right.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
But he was talented enough to make it to change music.
Oh my goodness. Well, folks, stay with us here, because
we talk about this footage, this stolen footage so much. Well,
how exactly does netflick explain how they're able to use
the footage? We hear the statement from the director of
this new Diddy documentary. Stay here, we picked back up
(17:19):
here about the Uh. I guess it's the documentary that
everybody's talking about, and we're talking about it now, The
Reckoning Sean Combs. The Reckoning is what is officially called
on Netflix fifty cent produced. It just dropped today. Everybody's
talking and cease and desist from Diddy's team wanting them
to not air this thing. They went ahead and did
it anyway, and particularly because of some what they say
(17:40):
is stolen footage. But it's pretty intimate footage. It is
footage that is in the hotel room with Diddy before
he's arrested in days.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Talking to his lawyers they have which seems like a
protected conversation. I don't know, you know what was interesting
to me. I was learning a lot of things about
him that I did not know. And I think a
lot of people are in my camp. They know his music,
they know his reputation, and certainly they followed the trial,
but to go all the way back and look, there's
a lot more to learn, because I still want to
(18:13):
watch all three. We've only seen the first one. But
this notion of him being a paper gangster, had you
heard that before, Well, it's.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
A guy who some people got crid and some people
got clout and some people have respect based on things
they gathered from reputation, being quite frankly on the street.
He amassed his power in a boardroom, in an office,
and a guy was trying to make that connection, but
(18:40):
he had this. He ends up. He's got a street connections,
don't get me wrong, But he became that hustler, that
gangster because of what he did in an office.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
And isn't part of in this They get into this
in later episodes, but isn't part of the beef between
fifty cent and Diddy. This whole back and forth West Coast,
East Coast, Tupac. There are all these allegations about any
role that he may have played in his death and
all of that where they said he was maybe a
(19:11):
paper gangster who thought he was a street gangster who
then got confused. And that was a little bit of
what I saw teased, and you're laughing because you know
the story and I don't know anything. I'm like following along,
like you know, just soaking it up because I don't know.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
It is classic hip hop history, and it absolutely was
a part of putting hip hop on the map. East
Coast versus West Coast, Tupac versus Biggie Sug versus Puffy,
this is what it was. And I remember Sug at
a awards show excepting an award, he said, yeah, come
over to the West Coast if you want to do
(19:46):
music and you don't want your producer all up into videos,
like he was taking a direct shot. This is how
we do it. We're the real gangsters. You in a
hot tub, drinking champagne, talking about you this and that.
That set it all up. So, yes, he was that guy. Man,
that's fine, But he wasn't necessarily chasing street cred a
way a lot of rappers necessarily did. But that beef
(20:08):
that he was in the center of the biggest explosion
of hip hop that we've ever seen.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Yeah, and to hear how you know, all of these parties,
all of these freak offs that we heard so much
about during the trial. To think that perhaps the inspiration
for them came in part from his own mother.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
They made that connection.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
That was jaw dropping to me.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
They made that connection. Is that fair? Is that right?
I don't know, but they certainly did in the documentary.
I'm sure he didn't appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
I'm sure his mother didn't appreciate that either. They made
a point to say they reached out to her in
oh shocking. She didn't want to participate or react at
all to what they were putting out there. But yeah,
they went there and they drew that connection. And I
hadn't heard that before.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
No, but his mom has been I mean she's there
every day of the trial, every single might be the
only one that did not miss a day in his family, possibly,
but she's always been right there next to him. Yeah,
there have always been those stories, but she did what
she did to raise that child. There's a lot of
people struggling and doing what they have to do in
(21:07):
all kinds of places, and you there are folks who
will see this story and relate to and go, wow,
no excuse, but it helps you understand maybe his mindset
a little better.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
It certainly did me and I and I find it
to be fascinating. Do you actually think though, like at
this point they've already put it out, they already had
the threats. Of course, I'm sure they already knew that
Diddy's team was going to seek legal action to try.
But the idea that they would take it down or
that seems far fetched to it.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
You'd have to be ordered to do so. Probably at
this point, no threat of a lawsuit's going to do it.
That they would have to be ordered to do so. So, So, yeah,
how did they do this? This is the director we
talked about just a short time ago. Again, she has
great credits, so this is not just somebody they plucked
off the street, Alexandria Stapleton. But the statement from her
at least how they were able to use this footage quote,
(21:57):
it came to us where we obtained the footage legally
and have the necessary rights. Didn't go into much explanation after.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
That, Nope, But it seemed like, honestly, by not going
to explanation, it feels like they feel very confident about
where they stand legally.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Or they're trying to be careful about getting into more
trouble legally by saying as little as possible.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Yeah, The next line, though, was very interesting to me.
She went on to say, we moved heaven and earth
to keep the filmmaker's identity confidential. That's the videographer.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Who else is the film? Right? It has to be
so did he knows who it is? There was one
other guy in the room. They know who it is. Obviously,
if did he seize that footage, he knows it got
from that videographer's hand to where and how? Or did
it was all this stuff in Diddy's possession. Did he
have this stuff and in some kind of way somebody
(22:55):
stole it and it got out? Either way, did he
didn't authorize it? Who?
Speaker 2 (23:00):
She goes on to say, 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 Shawn
Comb's legal team for an interview and comment multiple times,
but did not hear back.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
Just wait, he's probably he'll probably get around to it.
I don't understand that either. She kind of made a
pivot and started talking about something else. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
She kind of trashed him. She was kind of saying
his own ego, his own hubris his own need to
document everything about his life is what got us this
footage in the first place, so it kind of was
like blaming him for the fact that they have this
footage to begin with.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
How soon before you want to do episode two?
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Well, I think as soon as we watch the second
episode if they're I mean, look, I don't know. To
your point, I'll be learning things probably every minute. I'll
be curious to see what you if you learn anything
beyond what you already have heard or seen.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Well, folks, check it out. We were joking at the
top kinda that you should probably go ahead and watch
it before it comes down, But as of now that
thing is up. There's no indication, no word from Netflix
that they're even giving us a thought about not leaving
it up on their streaming service. So check it out, folks.
We always appreciate you spending some time with us. Swimmer.
Dear Amy Robot, I'm TJ. Holmes will talk to y'all
(24:23):
realson
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