Here are 5 takeaways from the Sean 'Diddy' Combs Netflix documentary

Rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s four-part documentary on embattled hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs premiered last week on Netflix, and it is currently the platform’s most-viewed show.

“Sean Combs: The Reckoning” traces Diddy’s ascent to becoming one of hip-hop’s most powerful figures and his subsequent downfall amid a wave of sexual assault and abuse allegations.

Diddy is in prison after being sentenced to more than four years on prostitution-related charges.

Here are 5 takeaways from the documentary:

Killings of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G.

The documentary explores the murders of rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace), pivotal events that fueled the East Coast–West Coast feud of the 1990s. Shakur died on Sept. 13, 1996, six days after he was shot in a drive-by attack in Las Vegas.

There are insinuations and accusations that Diddy played a role in one or both of the killings from several interview subjects. Diddy has not been charged in connection with those killings.

The Notorious B.I.G. was killed in a drive-by shooting on March 9, 1997, after leaving a Soul Train Awards afterparty in Los Angeles with Combs. Combs had discovered the rapper and signed him to his label, Bad Boy Entertainment.

2 jurors from Diddy’s criminal trial speak out

Diddy was acquitted of federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges but was convicted on two charges related to prostitution. In October, he was sentenced to 50 months in prison, with credit for time served.

Jurors 75 and 160 appear in Episode 4 of the series, offering insight into how the panel reached its mixed verdict. Juror 160, a woman, said footage showing Diddy being violent with a girlfriend weighed heavily on her. “It’s unforgivable, honestly. You can’t beat that small girl like that the way he did, but domestic violence wasn’t one of the charges,” she said.

Juror 75, a man, said he didn’t understand why one of Diddy’s girlfriends would continue to reconcile with him after being abused on multiple occasions.

He said he “100%” thinks justice was served,

“We saw both sides of it, and we came with our conclusion,” he said.

The jurors said they had difficulty convicting on the sex-trafficking and racketeering charges because, in their view, the evidence presented in court did not fully meet the legal requirements for those offenses.

New footage

The documentary features never-before-seen footage of Combs discussing his legal troubles just days before his arrest at a New York City hotel in September 2024. Jackson (50 Cent) declined to disclose how he obtained the video.

Someone from Diddy’s camp has said the footage was stolen.

“We have to find somebody that will work with us, whether they’re from this country or another country,” Diddy says in the footage. “It could be somebody that has dealt with the dirtiest, dirty business of media and propaganda.”

Netflix said it obtained the footage legally and holds all necessary rights to use it.

Why did 50 Cent produce this series?

Jackson, better known as 50 Cent, appears in the credits of each episode. “If I didn’t say anything, you would interpret it as hip-hop is fine with his behaviors,” he told ABC News ahead of the series’ release. Jackson and Diddy have been feuding since 2006, when Jackson claimed Diddy played a role in Wallace’s death.

Ripped off

Kirk Burrowes, the co-founder of Diddy’s record label Bad Boy Entertainment, is quoted extensively throughout the series.

Burrowes has claimed that Diddy subjected him to years of verbal, emotional and physical abuse while they ran the company together. In the series and in two lawsuits, he alleged that in 1996, Diddy — then a rapper and music producer — threatened him with a baseball bat to coerce him into signing over his 25% ownership stake in Bad Boy Entertainment.