The documentary filmmaker hired to chronicle the life of Diddy in recent years is pushing back on mounting speculation about how Netflix obtained previously unseen footage of the music mogul prior to his arrest.
Michael Oberlies, who had been directing a long-term project on the mogul, publicly dismissed online claims that the material was leaked because of a financial dispute. Instead, he says the footage surfaced after a temporary fill-in videographer mishandled access while covering for him.
“For over two years, we have been working on a project profiling Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs,” Oberlies said in a statement provided to Rolling Stone. “The footage in question was not released by me or anyone authorized to handle Sean Combs’ materials; 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.”
The footage, featured in Netflix’s four-part documentary “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” has been a point of debate since its release. Director Alexandria Stapleton and Netflix have consistently stated the material was “legally obtained.” The scenes show Diddy inside his Park Hyatt hotel room in New York on September 10, 2024, just days before his arrest on federal charges. He was later acquitted of the most serious counts but received a 50-month sentence after being found guilty on two lesser charges.
Clips from those days capture the Bad Boy founder coaching his team on shaping public perception, reacting in real time to a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Dawn Richard, and instructing associates to distribute old footage in his defense.
Diddy’s attorneys previously issued a cease-and-desist letter to Netflix, calling the project a “hit piece,” though no legal action has followed since the documentary aired.
So what you’re telling us is that, they have no actual proof that the person filming was under any contractual obligations with him or Diddy, but he was wrong “morally” for selling it?! Smh, this is the best story that Diddy’s lawyers can parrot him to say.