Sean Combs: The Reckoning – one of the latest 2025 Netflix releases – continues to spark responses from those depicted within the show. Days ago, Diddy himself called out the streamer for allegedly using “stolen footage” in the doc, which was produced by 50 Cent. The episodes feature interviewees making various claims against Combs and, additionally, his mother, Janice, is accused of being an “abusive” parent. Now, the matriarch is responding to the accusations, and she's not pleased with what’s been said.
The allegations in question were made by a few of Diddy’s childhood friends – Tim Patterson and Kirk Burrows. Patterson alleged that Janice Combs was violent towards her son and said it “wasn’t a joking thing.” On top of that, Burrows also claimed he witnessed Sean slap Janice following a celebrity basketball game in 1991. Janice responded to those claims via a statement (via Deadline) released on Saturday, December 6. In it, she vehemently denied the accusations, decrying the notion that she’d been abusive towards his son:
I am writing this statement to correct some of the lies presented in the Netflix, Sean Combs: The Reckoning, released on December 2, 2025. These inaccuracies regarding my son Sean’s upbringing and family life is intentionally done to mislead viewers and further harm our reputation. In the documentary, I am portrayed as an abusive parent. This is untrue. As I have stated previously, I was a single mother, raising my son, I held three and even four jobs in an attempt to provide a comfortable upbringing and quality education for my child. I raised Sean with love and hard work, not abuse.
Earlier this year, Tim Patterson shared other thoughts on Janice Combs’ alleged parental habits. Patterson – who’s also known as “Dawg” – accused Janice of holding sex parties when Sean was young. Patterson then suggested that those gatherings laid the foundation for Sean’s mentality when it came to the Freak Off parties he held years later. While denying Patterson’s account, Janice also shared her own description of her relationship with her son:
The statement made by Mr. Tim Patterson about Sean‘s life regarding my relationship with my son is not truthful and salacious to promote the series. To the contrary, I loved and nurtured Sean. My memories of Sean growing up are one of a respectful and a diligent child and teenager. Sean has always been an industrious, goal oriented, over achiever.
Since Sean Combs’ legal woes began a few years ago, his mother has defended and taken issue with the coverage of his various abuse allegations. While Janice previously said she wouldn’t try to portray her son as “perfect,” she’s still taken issue with what she believes to be false accounts about his personality. On that note, she also acknowledged the claim that he hit her:
Moreover, the allegations stated by Mr. Kirk Burrows that my son slapped me while we were conversing after the tragic City College events on December 28, 1991, are inaccurate and patently false. That was a very sad day for all of us. For him to use this tragedy and incorporate fake narratives to further his prior failed and current attempt to gain what was never his, Bad Boy Records is wrong, outrageous and past offensive. Sean has been a dutiful son always ensuring that I was cared for and vigilantly managing my medical care, as well as providing financial support. I am requesting that these distortions, falsehoods and misleading statements be publicly retracted.
A four-part series, Sean Combs: The Reckoning tackles the eponymous rapper’s rise to fame as well as the legal issues he’s been ensnared in as of late. One of the biggest points of contention that’s arisen is how the creative team procured footage of Combs, which was filmed six days before his arrest in 2024. While the “Bad Boy for Life” rapper accused the producers of taking the video illegally, director Alexandria Stapleton said it was not taken unlawfully.
What Diddy has also taken issue with is how Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is involved with the doc. Jackson – who trolled Diddy amid his sex-trafficking trial this past summer and sought to prevent him from being pardoned – revealed his intent to make the show back in 2024. He’s since explained that his desire to make the docuseries didn’t stem from his years-long beef with the Sean John figurehead but a desire to convey that the hip-hop community isn’t letting Combs’ alleged actions slide.
As all of this plays out, Sean Combs himself remains in prison at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey, where he’ll stay as he serves out the rest of his four-year sentence. While The Reckoning remains available to Netflix subscription holders, it’s unclear if the streamer will take any major course of action in light of the reactions. Time will also tell if Janice Combs will do anything more should the “misleading statements” not be retracted.
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