Sean “Diddy” Combs’ mother, Janice Combs, has condemned the new Netflix docuseries about her son, saying it contains “lies” and “inaccuracies.”
The four-part series, Sean Combs: The Reckoning, was released on December 2. In a statement to Deadline, Janice said the documentary misrepresented Sean’s childhood and family life.
“I am writing this statement to correct some of the lies presented in the Netflix, Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” she said. “These inaccuracies regarding my son Sean’s upbringing and family life are intentionally done to mislead viewers and further harm our reputation.”
Janice strongly denied a claim made in the first episode about a 1991 tragedy in which nine people died during a stampede at a charity basketball game organised by Sean at the City College of New York.
In the episode, Sean’s former friend and colleague, Kirk Burrowes, alleged that he saw Sean slap his mother that day. Janice rejected the claim.
“The allegations stated by Mr. Kirk Burrows [sic] that my son slapped me while we were conversing after the tragic City College events on December 28, 1991, are inaccurate and patently false,” she said.
She added that Burrowes was using the tragedy to push “fake narratives” in an attempt to regain “what was never his — Bad Boy Records.”
Janice called for the statements to be publicly withdrawn.
In the documentary, Burrowes claims he saw Sean argue with his mother and slap her, saying Sean called her a derogatory name. According to the docuseries, Sean did not respond to filmmakers’ requests for comment on this allegation.
The series comes shortly after Sean’s federal convictions on two prostitution-related charges. He is serving a 50-month prison sentence handed down in October and is also facing multiple lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault.
A day before the docuseries premiered, Sean’s spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, described it as a “shameful hit piece.” He also accused Netflix of using “stolen footage” that Sean had collected for years to tell his own story.
“For Netflix to give his life story to someone who has publicly attacked him for decades feels like an unnecessary and deeply personal affront,” Engelmayer said, referring to 50 Cent, who is a producer of the project.
When asked about the claim that Sean slapped his mother, Engelmayer said they would not respond to each accusation. He argued that many people in the documentary had “personal grievances,” “financial motives,” or “credibility issues.”
According to him, the project was bu
