The rapper and producer is accused of, among other things, rape and sex trafficking. He must be judged in May but three documentaries should be dedicated to him before this deadline.
Sean “Diddy” Combs, in September 2023, a year before his indictment for sex trafficking, among others. PHOTO : Angela Weiss / AFP
Par Emma Defaud
Published on January 4, 2025 at 12:02 p.m.
L‘case will be judged on May 5, but why wait? On Friday January 2, the trailer for the documentary from the Peacock streaming platform was released in the United States, The Making of a bad boywhich looks back on the trajectory of P.Diddy, a wealthy producer and rapper, indicted last September for racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation for the purposes of prostitution.
“For decades”real name Sean Combs “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to satisfy his sexual desires, protect his reputation and hide his actions”states the indictment. According to prosecutors, he “relied on the employees, resources and influence of the multifaceted business empire he directed and controlled to create a criminal enterprise whose members engaged […] trafficking for sexual exploitation, forced labor, kidnapping, corruption and obstruction of justice. » The fifty-year-old rapper is also being sued in civil court by more than 120 victims, including 25 minors at the time of the events, who accuse him of sexual assault or rape.
The documentary, which promises many testimonies from victims and images of the rapper’s legendary evenings of debauchery, will be broadcast from January 14. But other projects are also underway, as recalled by Huffington Post.
A second project will be available for viewing on Max (formerly HBO) during 2025. The documentary series “will also shine a light on the toxic power dynamics that have played out within the industry and kept many survivors silent, until now,” producers Investigation Discovery and Maxine Productions announced in a press release, just three days after the rapper’s arrest in September.
The following week, a third project was made public. Rapper 50 Cent, who denounces “for ten years” the behavior of P. Diddy, is in fact working on a documentary series for Netflix. “It’s a story with a significant human impact, assured Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent in People. This is a complex narrative that spans decades, not just the headlines or clips seen so far “. The production entrusted the direction to Alexandria Stapleton. The release date has not yet been made public.
No doubt, the subject fascinates America and beyond. But seeing such an abundance of documentaries flourish for such recent events (the searches at Diddy’s homes date back to March 2024) shows to what extent setting up this kind of project is more opportunism than reflection. If certain accusations are older, the scramble for a timely release cannot in any way serve the quality of the work. We must therefore count, even before the start of this extraordinary trial, on marketing hype to win the battle for visibility and audience. It started this Friday, January 2.
