Sean Combs: The Reckoning is continuing to make waves. This time, it’s because Diddy’s ex-sex worker is suing Netflix and docuseries producer 50 Cent for at least $20 million, as he claims that the streamer’s project distorted allegations he made against Cassie Ventura.
Clayton Howard was involved in the docuseries because he was interviewed about the “freak offs” Diddy had. Ventura was involved in those as well, and Howard claims that in Sean Combs: The Reckoning, what he said about the rapper’s ex was not accurate, as he said he described Cassie Ventura as a victim, not an accomplice. According to The Wrap, he stated that The Reckoning “concealed his own testimony against Ventura,” and his lawsuit cites defamation and fraud. Specifically, the lawsuit claims:
Defendants deliberately edited, distorted and misrepresented plaintiff’s account to portray Cassie Ventura — plaintiff’s primary trafficker — as a victim, while omitting and suppressing plaintiff’s testimony that he was sex trafficked by Ventura, thereby inflicting severe harm upon plaintiff’s reputation.
The lawsuit goes on to explain that because Howard is involved in the “federal criminal prosecution of Sean Combs,” he’s in a unique and “vulnerable” situation. Explaining this matter further, the suit states:
Plaintiffs’ role as a cooperating witness in the federal criminal prosecution of Sean Combs places him in a uniquely vulnerable position. Any distortion or misrepresentation of his testimony undermines not only his personal credibility but also the integrity of federal prosecutorial efforts to hold sex traffickers accountable.
Overall, Howard is seeking an edit to the docuseries as well as $20 million in damages. When it comes to the edit specifically, he wants it to inform the viewers that the footage has been “edited and may not reflect complete testimony.”
According to the filing, Howard feels that the docuseries is a “calculated misrepresentation” of what happened. It also states that it was “done in furtherance of defendant Curtis Jackson’s personal and business vendetta against Sean Combs.”
Notably, there have been claims that 50 Cent made The Reckoning because of his beef with Diddy. Jackson responded by saying, “It’s not personal.” He also said that if he didn’t speak up, someone might have interpreted that as hip-hop being “fine with [Diddy’s] behaviors.”
Going back to this new lawsuit, Clayton Howard claims that the producer of The Reckoning was working toward making a "profitable narrative," too, saying:
This calculated misrepresentation was done in furtherance of defendant Curtis Jackson’s personal and business vendetta against Sean Combs and to create a commercially profitable narrative that silenced a documented trafficking victim to protect a documented trafficker.
Now, this is not the first legal issue Netflix has had to deal with over this docuseries. Sean Combs took legal action by filing a cease-and-desist order that was an attempt to stop the project from being available with a Netflix subscription. Meanwhile, as 50 Cent starts to dive deeper into true crime, there is still talk about his involvement in the docuseries as well.
All this also comes amid Diddy serving time in prison after being convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
