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Sean "Diddy" Combs claimed he was The Notorious B.I.G.'s best friend even after Biggie's death, but he allegedly made the late rapper's estate cover the cost of his massive funeral in New York City.
On Tuesday, December 2, Netflix released its anticipated docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning executive-produced by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. In the second episode, Combs' former childhood friend and co-founder of Bad Boy Entertainment, Kirk Burrowes, recalled how the Mount Vernon native told every news outlet that he was Biggie's best friend following his death in 1997. However, behind closed doors, "that wasn't necessarily true."
“Sean said, ‘We're gonna do the biggest funeral for Biggie that New York has ever seen,’” Burrowes said toward the end of the episode. “We start to put that together, he starts to see the price. He says, ‘We're gonna do the biggest funeral, but Biggie's gonna have to pay for this funeral.’"
“He was gonna make the funeral be a recoupable charge to Biggie in death,” he continued. “Sean doing a big show looks good on him. But he's not gonna tell the world that Biggie was gonna pay for it.”
After he was shot and killed in Los Angeles, Biggie was laid to rest following an extravagant funeral service at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in New York City. In addition to Big's mother Voletta Wallace, wife Faith Evans and their children, Combs attended the service with Lil' Kim, Lil' Cease and other members of Junior M.A.F.I.A. The entire city got to say goodbye during a massive processional that ran through his hometown of Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn.
Burrowes also claimed that Combs tried to capitalize on Big's death by launching his solo career. Right before Big died, Combs had locked in a cover story with Rolling Stone. In the aftermath of Big's death, Combs allegedly pitched himself for the cover. "Pull that cover," Burrowes claimed Combs said to him in a phone call. "I need to be on the cover. My solo album is coming in July, No Way Out, and I need to amp that up."
Combs' rep previously that the docuseries is a "shameful hit piece" and alleged that Netflix published "stolen footage that was never authorized for release.” In response, a spokesperson for Netflix told Variety that those claims were false.
"The project has no ties to any past conversations between Sean Combs and Netflix," the rep said. "The footage of Combs leading up to his indictment and arrest were legally obtained. This is not a hit piece or an act of retribution. Curtis Jackson is an executive producer but does not have creative control. No one was paid to participate.”
Sean Combs: The Reckoning is streaming on Netflix now.