Diddy asks President Trump for pardon, president speaks out
President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he has asked for a pardon for Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was convicted of federal sex crimes.
Sean “Diddy” Combs calls Netflix’s upcoming documentary series about him “an embarrassing hit.”
On Monday, Dec. 1, Combs’ spokesperson released a statement on his behalf criticizing Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos for greenlighting a four-part documentary project titled “Sean Combs: The Reckoning.”
According to a Netflix news release from Tuesday, Nov. 25, the docuseries will be executive produced by rapper and longtime enemy of Combs, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, and will feature exclusive interviews with people who were previously part of Combs’ inner circle and “never-before-seen material.”
The disgraced hip-hop mogul, who is currently serving a four-year prison sentence after being convicted on federal prostitution charges, was featured in an interview with Jackson and director and co-producer Alexandria Stapleton, with the first trailer for the documentary series released on Monday morning’s “Good Morning America” segment.
“Today’s ‘GMA’ teaser confirms that Netflix relied on stolen footage that it was not authorized to release,” Monday’s statement read. “As Netflix and CEO Ted Sarandos know, Mr. Combs has been collecting footage to tell his story in unique ways since he was 19 years old. Netflix’s exploitation of that work is fundamentally unfair and illegal.”
The trailer, which premiered this morning, shows Combs discussing legal strategy with his lawyers, saying, “I’m going to hang up the phone right now and let the experts look at the situation and come back with a solution,” before sternly telling them, “We’re not working together in the right way. We’re losing.”
Combs also said in a statement that Netflix was “desperate to sensationalize every moment of Mr. Combs’ life, ignoring the truth, in order to capitalize on the never-ending media frenzy.”
“If Netflix cared about the truth and Mr. Combs’ legal rights, it would not cut private footage out of context, including conversations with his attorney that were never intended for public viewing,” Combs’ statement said. “No rights in that material were transferred to Netflix or any third party.”
Combs’ statement said it was “equally surprising” that Netflix would hand over “creative control” to Jackson, a “long-time adversary” of the Bad Boy Entertainment founder. In a statement, the rapper claims he has a “personal vendetta” against Combs and that the documentary is the result of that.
Mr. Jackson addressed criticism that the Netflix project was motivated by his own personal ill will toward Mr. Combs, rather than elevating the voices of victims. “If I didn’t say anything, hip-hop would interpret his behavior as okay,” he said. “There’s no one else speaking out… something like this would register an entire culture as if it supported that action.”
Combs’ team claims that the Netflix docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning is a “personal breach of trust” that goes “beyond a legal matter,” adding, “Mr. Combs has long admired Ted Sarandos and admired the work of Clarence Avant.”
“For Netflix to tell his life story to someone who has publicly attacked him for decades feels like an unnecessary and deeply personal affront,” the statement concluded. “At least he expected fairness from the people he respected.”
Pregnant Cassandra Fine Ventura, known professionally as Kathy, became the star witness in Combs’ two-month federal trial over the summer, giving days of harrowing and emotional testimony. Another witness, who testified under the pseudonym Jane, claimed Combs told her “I didn’t want to have sex” and then threatened to stop paying her rent if she didn’t comply with his orders and have sex with another man.
On July 2, a New York jury found Combs guilty of two counts of transportation for the purpose of prostitution and acquitted him of the most serious charges of extortion and sex trafficking.
Netflix “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” release date
The four-part docuseries, titled “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” will be available to stream on Netflix on December 2nd.
When will Diddy be released from prison?
Combs is scheduled to be released from federal prison on May 8, 2028, after 50 months in custody, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ online database. That date is likely to change as he finishes his sentence.
Combs’ lawyers had previously unsuccessfully lobbied a judge to overturn his conviction or grant a new trial.
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