Sean "Diddy" Combs is firing back at former producer Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones Jr. in a new lawsuit, two years after Jones accused the hip-hop mogul of sexual assault.
The embattled music mogul, who's currently serving a 50-month federal prison sentence on sex-crimes charges, filed a counter-lawsuit against Jones in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, Aug. 11, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY.
Combs alleges in the new filing that Jones stole personal footage from him and sold it to be used in a documentary produced by Netflix and Combs' longtime rap rival, 50 Cent, in order to "spread baseless lies about Mr. Combs in pursuit of an undeserved payout."
He demands in the complaint that Jones return
the "stolen computer drives and stolen footage," as well as destroy any copies in his possession. Combs is also seeking a jury trial.
USA TODAY has reached out to attorneys for Combs and Jones for comment.
In February 2024, Jones, who coproduced Combs' 2023 album "The Love Album: Off the Grid," filed a lawsuit against Combs, alleging the Grammy-winning rapper engaged in "serious illegal activity," including sexual assault, during their time working together. Among his various accusations, Jones said Combs "forcibly touched and attempted and/or threatened to touch [Jones'] intimate areas and/or touched [Jones] with his own intimate body parts."
He also accused the rapper and his associates – including son Justin Dior Combs, his chief of staff and Combs Global Enterprises – of participating in a "sex-trafficking venture." Additionally, the musician alleged that he was not compensated for the year of work he put into Combs' album.
The 56-year-old scored a partial legal victory in the case a year later when a judge agreed to dismiss Jones' other charges of racketeering, breach of contract and infliction of emotional distress.
What does Netflix's Diddy documentary show?
The Emmy-nominated docuseries, titled "Sean Combs: The Reckoning," offers a candid look at Combs' legal troubles leading up to his September 2024 arrest and subsequent federal indictment, including previously unseen footage of Combs in New York City (where he was later arrested).
Combs' team issued two cease-and-desist letters to Netflix in response to the documentary's release.
Rodney 'Lil Rod' Jones Jr. allegedly stole Diddy footage while working on album
Combs, who was allegedly working on a documentary about his life, claimed in Tuesday's lawsuit that Jones stole footage for the planned film during the making of "The Love Album."
Jones allegedly accompanied Combs and his team, including several videographers for the documentary, to St. Barths for a December 2022 trip, according to court documents. One of the videographers purportedly stored footage that was being compiled for the film on various external computer storage drives, which were placed in "workstations" inside Combs' yacht.
The rapper's attorneys allege that instead of staying in a rental villa designated for Combs' staff, Jones insisted on staying in the yacht, preferring to sleep on the boat's couches in order to "remain in the vicinity of Mr. Combs."
Combs' lawyers further allege that Jones "devised a plan to exploit" his trust and "obtain leverage" over Combs, which included secretly accessing the videographer's workstation and taking certain computer drives. The footage allegedly consisted of behind-the-scenes clips of Combs working on his album, as well as interactions between Combs and his colleagues in St. Barths and at his Miami, Florida, home.
"Mr. Combs fostered an open, collaborative, working environment for those working with him and placed a great deal of trust in those working on his team," the lawsuit states. "Mr. Combs expected that those working with him would use the space and freedom to foster creativity and enable those working with Mr. Combs to give their full creative energy to their work. Mr. Jones grossly abused that trust."
Rodney 'Lil Rod' Jones Jr. allegedly sells documentary footage to Diddy rival 50 Cent
Following the release of "Sean Combs: The Reckoning" last December, Combs allegedly realized that Jones had stolen his documentary footage and sold it to be featured in the docuseries, according to Combs' complaint.
Jones, who allegedly previously worked for 50 Cent, appears in the fourth episode of "The Reckoning" for a tell-all interview. Combs' attorneys claim the footage used in the episode matches the material contained in Combs' computer drives.
"The stolen footage was essential to the competing documentary ['The Reckoning']," the lawsuit states. "Indeed, public reports reference 'never-before-seen footage of Combs and his inner circle' as contributing to a 'staggering examination' of Mr. Combs."
Jones' alleged sale of the footage "deprived" Combs of the ability to use the footage exclusively in his own documentary, which the rapper's attorneys say caused him "significant damage."
Aside from the financial impact, Combs' lawyers say Jones' involvement with "The Reckoning" also had an adverse effect on the music mogul's image, after Jones made numerous "false and defamatory statements" about his working relationship with Combs. Some of these damning allegations include instances of sexual assault, drugging, recruitment of sex workers and a violent episode in which Combs and his son allegedly shot a man during a studio session.
Such commentary was part of a "deliberate effort to damage Mr. Combs' reputation, undermine his business and poison the public's perception of him, which was the goal of the documentary competitors," the lawsuit states. "Mr. Jones eagerly peddled these lies to enrich himself, knowing that his claims were false."
Contributing: KiMi Robinson and Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sean 'Diddy' Combs sues Rodney Jones over Netflix documentary footage
