Just days prior to his arrest in September 2024, Sean Combs received a stern call from his legal team.
Sean Combs: Netflix teaser: The Reckoning date announcement
Following a number of lawsuits brought against him that contained allegations of sexual misconduct, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, 56, found himself the subject of intense media scrutiny.
The Bad Boy mogul traveled to New York City in September 2024 while the federal government was looking into him and Homeland Security raided two of his properties. He remained in a hotel room aware that the New York Southern District was in imminent danger of receiving a federal indictment.
He complained to his legal team about how poorly his case was handled during this time. “Yo, you’re not working together the right way. In a scene that was previously unreleased, he claimed, “We’re losing.”
The opening sequences of Netflix’s new docuseries, Sean Combs: The Reckoning, show Diddy pacing his hotel room whilst speaking on the phone to his solicitor, Marc Agnifilo. “It’s really going to be hard for me to take more hits than I’ve taken,” he admitted.
“God forbid, get in front of a jury and have a chance. So, I’m having this emergency call because something has to give,” reports the Mirror US.
Diddy criticized the approach taken to handling the allegations, particularly the handling of media relations during the call. You didn’t do anything wrong on any front, Marc told Diddy, and the plan was to keep it that way.
The attorney continued, stating that they intended to highlight Diddy’s decision to “face things head on” in New York as part of the federal investigation.
Further clarification, the 60-year-old added that they desired Diddy’s story to show him making the allegations. Diddy, however, showed skepticism and said he thought the strategy wasn’t working.
He labelled himself as a “superb client” before criticising his team for not having a dedicated spokesperson. At the time, the Mirror US reports, Diddy did have a contact for the press, which was often his legal team directly.
According to Diddy, “you must have some sort of comms to always be pushing that, Marc.” He argued that public relations communications should be conducted across a range of channels, including social networks and mainstream media.
Before entering the courtroom, Diddy’s main concern was potential jurors being influenced by media reports.
“We need to find someone who will work for us, whether or not they are from this or another nation.” It might be someone who has worked in the media’s and propaganda’s most dirty business, Diddy suggested to Marc.
On September 16, 2024, Diddy was detained on suspicion of sex trafficking, racketeering, and prostitution-related transportation.
The jury found Diddy guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy after a two-month trial that ended in July 2025.
Sean Combs: The Reckoning premiered on Netflix on 2 December. Executive producer Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson said ahead of its release: “I’ve been committed to real storytelling for years through G-Unit Film and Television.”
Jackson continued, “I’m proud to have Alexandria Stapleton as the director on the project to bring this significant story to the screen, and I’m grateful to everyone who came forward and trusted us with their stories.”
A Diddy representative told Mirror US before its release that “Netflix’s alleged “documentary” is a repulsive hit piece. He continued, claiming that Netflix’s “stolen footage” was “fundamentally unfair, and illegal, to misappropriate that work.”
He added that Netflix is “absolutely desperate to sensationalise every minute of Mr. Combs’ life, without regard for the truth,” to capitalize on a never-ending media frenzy.
If Netflix were concerned about Mr. Combs’ legal rights or the truth, it wouldn’t be removing private footage from context, including conversations with his attorneys, which were never meant for public viewing. No rights to that content were ever transferred to Netflix or a third party.
However, Alexandria Stapleton, the series’ director, previously explained the content’s origins, saying: “We obtained the footage legally and have the necessary rights. To protect the filmmaker’s identity, we moved heaven and earth.
“Sean Combs has always been filming himself, and it’s been a passion for this for a long time. We repeatedly contacted Sean Combs’ legal team for an interview and comment, but we never heard back.
Diddy continues to deny any and all accusations made against him.
