Sean 'Diddy' Combs has branded a new Netflix documentary about him as "a shameful hit piece"

The four-part series includes what Netflix has described as "explosive" footage of Combs, 56, filmed in a telephone conversation with his lawyers in the days prior to his September 2024 arrest - although the star's spokesperson said it was "fundamentally unfair, and illegal" to use private footage.

The statement said: "Netflix is plainly desperate to sensationalise every minute of Mr Combs's life, without regard for truth, in order to capitalise on a never-ending media frenzy.

"If Netflix cared about truth or Mr Combs's legal rights, it would not be ripping private footage out of context - including conversations with his lawyers that were never intended for public viewing. No rights in that material were ever transferred to Netflix or any third party."

Diddy's spokesperson also attacked Netflix's "staggering" decision to give creative control on the series to rapper 50 Cent, who is described as a "longtime adversary with a personal vendetta".

The statement read: "For Netflix to give his life story to someone who has publicly attacked him for decades feels like an unnecessary and deeply personal affront. At minimum, he expected fairness from people he respected."

The disgraced star's spokesperson explained that the documentary featured footage that was "never authorised for release".

They said: "As Netflix and CEO Ted Sarandos know, Mr Combs has been amassing footage since he was 19 to tell his own story. It is fundamentally unfair, and illegal, for Netflix to misappropriate that work."

Netflix has not answered the request for a response but highlighted comments it has published from the documentary's director Alexandria Stapleton.

She said: "It came to us, we obtained the footage legally and have the necessary rights.

"We moved heaven and earth to keep the filmmaker's identity confidential."

50 Cent - who has a long-running feud with Diddy dating back two decades - is an ex ecutive producer and felt that it was necessary for the hip-hop world to address the crimes.

The 50-year-old rapper told Good Morning America: "If I didn't say anything, you would interpret it as that hip-hop is fine with his behaviours. There's no-one else being vocal."