Alexandria Stapleton on chronicling the rise and reckoning of Sean Combs

The Business

Alexandria Stapleton on chronicling the rise and reckoning of Sean Combs

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Published on Jan 30, 2026, 6:00:00 AM
Total time: 00:28:32

Episode Description

This week, Kim speaks with Alexandria Stapleton, the DGA Award nominated director of Sean Combs: The Reckoning, a Netflix docuseries that examines the rise and fall of the hip hop mogul. Stapleton discusses partnering with executive producer 50 Cent, her approach to telling the story without turning it into a hit piece, and the care required when working with the alleged victims of Combs. She also explains how Netflix’s legal team vetted controversial pre arrest footage that Combs had commissioned himself.


Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni break down the final Sundance Film Festival hosted in Park City, and try to make sense of the $40 million+ Melania Trump documentary, including a reported $35 million marketing spend. The banter partners also dig into newly unsealed messages in the Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni dispute, including Ryan Reynolds’ not-so-subtle emails to Sony executives.

More about The Business

Lively banter about entertainment industry news and in-depth interviews with directors, producers, writers and actors, hosted by award-winning journalist Kim Masters of The Hollywood Reporter.