Director Alexandria Stapleton opens up on why Sean Combs: The Reckoning left out famous faces from the rapper's circle

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Sean Combs: The Reckoning is out now! (Image via Getty)

Sean Combs: The Reckoning was released on Netflix on December 2. The four-part documentary shows exclusive clips of Diddy and interviews with people who were once close to him. However, it didn't include many prominent celebrities and close people tied to the rapper over the years.

Speaking of their absence, director Alexandria Stapleton said in a Netflix press release:

"Extreme efforts were made to contact as many people as we could. I’ve had many off-the-record conversations. There are some people who I’ve been able to talk with to verify and fact-check certain pieces of information, but they did not want to do an interview."

The docuseries, according to Netflix, talks about domestic abuse, se*ual violence, strong use of language, and substance and tobacco use. The series focuses on Diddy's rise to fame, Tupac and Notorious B.I.G.'s sudden murders, how Sean Combs built Bad Boy Entertainment, his love life with Kim Porter, Misa Hylton, and ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, allegations made against him by his old partners, and other revelations made via unseen footage.

Sean Combs: The Reckoning is executive-produced by Curtis James Jackson III, famously known as 50 Cent, and is exclusively available on Netflix.


Alexandria Stapleton explains why some of the rapper's inner circle declined interviews for Sean Combs: The Reckoning

Sean Combs: The Reckoning (Image via YouTube/@Netflix)
Sean Combs: The Reckoning (Image via YouTube/@Netflix)

Netflix didn't reveal the exact official answers they got from Combs' inner circle on why they didn't want to appear on Sean Combs: The Reckoning. Alexandria Stapleton, explaining the situation, stated:

"Their reasons are vast. There was a lot of fear — Combs’ tentacles spread very wide. And I think a lot of people want to put this behind them. A lot of people are really struggling with being so connected to his legacy and want to be independent of that. And some of those reasons I will never know."

She added:

"We also reached out to Sean Combs’ legal team for an interview and comment multiple times, but did not hear back."

Alexandria Stapleton has previously noted that the docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning is more about how the public worships celebrities once they become famous and less about the rapper himself or his lawsuits, including the one with ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, which was filed in 2023, or the victims who came forward with their allegations.

The docuseries opens with Sean sitting in a Park Hyatt hotel room talking to his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, on September 10 last year. The docuseries also includes personal footage of Diddy talking about his close circle, as well as videos of Cassie from the early days of their meeting in the studio.

Speaking of the footage, which featured raw moments of Diddy in personal conversations with his close people, Alexandria clarified that:

"It came to us, we obtained the footage legally and have the necessary rights. One thing about Sean Combs is that he’s always filming himself, and it’s been an obsession throughout the decades."

Who made an appearance in Sean Combs: The Reckoning?

The following people appeared in Sean Combs's docuseries.

Aubrey O’Day: American singer and member of Danity Kane

Brooklyn Babs: Da Band's member

Clayton Howard: Diddy’s reportedly employed an ex-sex worker

Capricorn Clark: Former Bad Boy Entertainment assistant and creative director

D1: Mansfield Crips's ex-member

Derrick Parker: Former NYPD Detective

Erick Sermon: American rapper and ex-member of EPMD

Greg Kading: Los Angeles Police Department detective

Joi Dickerson-Neal: Reported victim

Kalenna Harper: American singer and songwriter

Kirk Burrowes: Bad Boy co-founder, whom Diddy gave a 25% stake in the company

Mark Curry: Ex-Former Bad Boy Artist

Roxanne Johnson: Craig Mack's ex-wife

Qwanell “Que” Mosley, Brian Andrews, Willie Taylor, and Robert Curry: Members of Day26, a group formed by Diddy

William Lesane: Late rapper Tupac Shakur's cousin

The series also featured two jurors who were present in his federal case.


Sean Combs: The Reckoning is now streaming on Netflix.

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Edited by Yesha Srivastava