Netflix is still shaking the table after releasing ‘Sean Combs: The Reckoning’ at the top of December. One of the biggest topics from the docuseries has been about the footage of Diddy in New York City days before his arrest. Combs’ legal team accused the streamer of obtaining illegal footage, which Netflix denied. Now, Diddy’s videographer, Michael Oberlies, is doubling down on the claim that the footage wasn’t for sale.
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Diddy’s Videographer Says NYC Footage Was Unauthorized
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Michael Oberlies cleared the air after a week of trending conversations about who sold the footage to Netflix. The clips in ‘Sean Combs: The Reckoning’ show never-before-seen moments of him interacting with fans in New York City streets, days before his arrest on September 16, 2024. The docuseries does not show the actual arrest. In several video clips, Diddy is seen laughing about needing a bath after the street meet-and-greets. Those clips alone have inspired endless memes and skits, highlighting Diddy’s comments about his bath needing boiling water and hydrogen peroxide.
Now, Oberlies says that footage and other clips, such as Diddy’s conversations with his lawyers and team, were part of a two-year personal project—a profile piece. The person who provided the tapes was not authorized to do so by him or Diddy, Oberlies told Rolling Stone. Michael has reportedly been working for Diddy since 2019.
“It was by a third party who covered for me for three days while I was out of state. 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.”
Swipe below to see Michael Oberlies full statement. The identity of the person who handed over the footage to Netflix and filmmakers has not been revealed.
Combs’ Team Calls Docuseries A “Hit Piece,” Filmmaker Claps Back
Alexandria Stapleton directed the four-part docuseries, ‘Sean Combs: The Reckoning.’ She has given a different story on how Netflix obtained the unseen footage of Diddy before his arrest. She told Tudum, the streamer’s news site, that the footage “came to [them]” and that they had obtained it legally with the necessary rights.
“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,” Alexandria Stapleton said.
Stapleton’s comments came after Diddy’s spokesperson slammed Netflix and the filmmakers a day before the streamer released the docuseries on Dec. 2. The statement called the project a “shameful hit piece” made with “stolen footage.” It accused Netflix and its CEO of being aware that Sean Combs has been collecting footage since he was 19 to “tell his own story, in his own way.”
Additionally, the statement said it’s “fundamentally unfair, and illegal for Netflix to misappropriate that work.” It concluded that the footage rights were not given to Netflix or a third party, adding that the streamer had granted creative control to “a longtime adversary” of Sean Combs, who allegedly harbored a “personal vendetta” against him. The “adversary” in question is the docuseries’ executive producer, who has already clarified that the project isn’t personal.
Diddy’s Team Doubled Down, But So Did Netflix!
So far, Diddy’s legal team has issued two cease-and-desist letters that Netflix has seemingly ignored. Instead, the streamer also issued a spokesperson statement to USA Today. It said the claims of ‘Sean Combs: The Reckoning’ being a hit piece are false. It also shut down talks of past conversations between Diddy and Netflix, and stood on Alexandria Stapleton’s take.
“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,” the streamer said, adding that the executive producer had no creative control and that participants in docuseries did not get paid.
Like her son, Diddy’s mother has also objected to aspects of ‘Sean Combs: The Reckoning.’ She specifically called out a story the former co-founder of Bad Boy Records, Kirk Burrows, shared. In his story, Burrows alleged that Diddy once slapped his mother while angered about a deadly stampede at a celebrity basketball game he put together in NYC in 1991. Janice Combs called Diddy a “dutiful son” who has always made sure she was cared for. She also described narratives about his upbringing and her parenting as inaccuracies that’s further harming the Combs’ reputation.
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