50 Cent Says Netflix Won Bidding War on His Docuseries on Diddy, His Scandal-Plagued Rival
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s outsized beef with his rap game rival is leaping to streaming giant Netflix, who has won a bidding war, according to Jackson, for a docuseries his company produced on beleaguered rapper-mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Netflix’s apparent triumph in the battle for the series, which was produced by Jackson’s G-Unit Film and Production Studios, was announced on Jackson’s Instagram account in a Tuesday night post captioned by the “In Da Club” rapper.
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“ok guys we’re all making good television mines just happens to be the best!” he wrote, in part, alongside a split image of him and Diddy. “NETFLIX wins the bidding war but if more victims keep coming out … I’m gonna need more episodes.” [sic]
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Netflix to confirm the series, as well as reps for 50 Cent.
TMZ was first to report that the docuseries will look into allegations leveled against Diddy, many of which stem from producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones’ explosive lawsuit accusing Diddy in November of sexual abuse, rape and sex trafficking. TMZ indicated that the multi-part docuseries will hit the streamer soon.
The Lil Rod legal filing came just weeks after Diddy settled one case for an undisclosed sum with his ex-partner, the recording artist Cassie. The two parties settled just one day after she filed her lawsuit accusing Combs of rape and ongoing physical abuse — the latter of which was on clear display in a harrowing video from 2016 that CNN acquired and released Friday; in it, Combs attacks Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway, kicking and shoving her, and dragging her by her sweatshirt, before throwing an object at her. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office said in a statement that they were aware of the video but unable to charge dude to the statute of limitations for a crime of assault.
In a subsequent apology video, Diddy referred to that time period as “the darkest times” in his life. “I was fucked up — I hit rock bottom — but I make no excuses,” he said. “My behavior on that video is inexcusable.”
On Wednesday, as news of Netflix’s apparent latest acquisition spread, Combs was hit with a fresh sexual assault suit. According to the complaint, filed in New York and obtained by and reported on by NBC News, this case comes from an ex-model claiming Combs drugged and sexually assaulted her during Fashion Week in 2003 after meeting him at Cipriani downtown. Crystal McKinney claims in the suit that she was drugged with a laced blunt, at which point Combs forced oral sex on her after she refused his advances.
Similar scenarios are detailed in Lil Rod’s suit, which was filed in November.
Jackson had teased the docuseries project on X (formerly Twitter) after the complaint was filed seven months ago, tweeting a video wherein Mark Curry, then a rapper signed to Diddy-led Bad Boy Records, discusses partying with Combs as he would spike bottles of champagne with “something to make the girls real, real slippery.” Background music in Jackson’s clip — Rick Ross’ “U.O.E.N.O.” — features unsubtle lyrics about surreptitiously drugging champagne meant for women in nightclubs.
Jones’ suit also alleges that Diddy had employed Jackson’s ex and mother of his child, Daphne Joy, as a sex worker (though no evidence of this is provided in Jones’ filing; Joy has denied the claims). As a result, Jackson is currently suing Joy (real name Daphne Joy Narvaez) for defamation following her public accusation in March that he raped her while the two were in a relationship more than a decade ago. (Jackson has denied the claim.)
Jackson and Combs’ beef goes back to 2006 when 50 Cent was relatively fresh on the rap scene and Diddy was nearly a decade into his music career. On his track “The Bomb,” Jackson indicated that Combs knew the identity of Notorious B.I.G.’s killer; Combs was present with the late rapper when he was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in 1997 after a brief but brilliant career. Jackson has accused Combs of profiting off of B.I.G.’s death through his music and has suggested the “I’ll Be Missing You” singer was involved in the death of B.I.G.’s rival Tupac Shakur, who was shot dead in Las Vegas in 1996.
Over the years, Jackson has beefed with Combs, questioning his sexuality and, in 2015, over their competing vodka brands. The ongoing feud ramped up when Lil Rod’s lawsuit was filed.
Combs has also denied all of the claims made against him in Lil Rod’s suit and four of the lawsuits alleging sexual assault and misconduct, some of which were filed under the New York Adult Survivors Act‘s one-year window for adult victims to file a suits against alleged abusers.
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