An ex-sex worker for Sean “Diddy” Combs sued Netflix and rapper-producer 50 Cent for at least $20 million on Wednesday over their “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” docuseries, claiming it intentionally distorted his allegations against Cassie Ventura.
Clayton Howard claimed the incendiary docuseries detailing the incarcerated music mogul’s alleged sex trafficking schemes concealed his own testimony against Ventura, Combs’ ex-girlfriend, who he said was an accomplice and “primary trafficker” in his eight-year relationship with Combs. The lawsuit cites defamation and fraud.
Howard was interviewed for the docuseries as one of the sex workers Combs brought in for his infamous “freak offs” with Ventura over an eight-year period beginning in 2009. In documents obtained by TheWrap, Howard said the final ut of “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” did not accurately reflect the account he gave when approached for the series. He said his primary objection was what he described as the portrayal of Cassie Ventura as a victim rather than an accomplice.
“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 suit reads.
The lawsuit continued: “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.”
Howard sued Ventura and Combs in a separate action in June 2025.
He claimed that despite assurances to the contrary, the Netflix project was a “calculated misrepresentation” of the events he experienced and how he recounted them. In addition to Netflix and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, named defendants on the lawsuit are Alexandra Stapleton; G-Unit Films and Television, Inc.; House of Nonfiction, Inc.; and West Tower Road LLC.
“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,” the lawsuit adds.
“Sean Combs: The Reckoning” landed on Netflix in early December. The buzzy four-episode docuseries scored 21.8 million views in its first week on the streamer. It has now cracked the 50 million view ceiling.
Howard is seeking $20 million in damages and an edit of the docuseries that includes a message informing viewers the accounts included are “edited and may not reflect complete testimony.”
It’s not the first time Netflix has caught legal heat over the docuseries’ release. Combs himself filed a cease-and-desist in an attempt to stop its release.
Combs was sentenced to four years in prison back in October. At the end of the year, the former media mogul appealed for an immediate release from prison. Combs’ lawyers urged a New York federal appeals court to either shorten or lighten the rapper’s sentence following his conviction on prostitution-related charges.
Representatives for 50 Cent did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment. Netflix declined to comment.
Howard’s lawsuit was first reported by Billboard.
The post Diddy’s Ex-Sex Worker Sues Netflix, 50 Cent for $20 Million, Claiming ‘The Reckoning’ Doc Distorted Testimony appeared first on TheWrap.
