Diddy's Decades-Long Feud With 50 Cent, Explained

It's no secret that Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and Sean "Diddy" Combs have been in a long-standing feud for years. The "In Da Club" rapper has been even more outspoken in his criticism of Combs in the wake of the raids on Combs' houses in Los Angeles and Miami back in March, and Combs' subsequent arrest in September on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.

He's best known as a musician, but you might not know that 50 Cent is also an actor and producer, and he is currently developing a documentary exposé about Diddy, being produced by Netflix, alongside director Alexandria Stapleton. The pair told Variety in September, just days after Combs' arrest, that the documentary "is a story with significant human impact. It is a complex narrative spanning decades, not just the headlines or clips seen so far."

While 50 Cent's feud has escalated in the public eye amid Combs' multitude of legal battles and criminal allegations, tensions between the music stars go back nearly two decades, with the release of "The Bomb" in 2006, a diss track 50 Cent recorded slamming Combs and accusing him of being involved in the murder of the Notorious B.I.G. Combs has denied the allegations, but the track sparked a long-running and simmering anger between the two.

Sean "Diddy" Combs worked with Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson early in their careers, with 50 Cent serving as a ghostwriter on Combs' hit single "Let's Get It" in 2001. However, as 50 Cent told The Hollywood Reporter in July 2024, the two knew each other professionally, but were never close. "It was mostly work," he told the outlet. "I wouldn't call it a friendship because there wouldn't be disappointment between us if we didn't speak to each other." The artist recalled how he would often try to avoid talking to Combs on the phone when he would call, but realized he needed the money at the time.

However, things turned sour between the pair at some point, and boiled over into an actual feud with the release of "The Bomb" diss track. Later in their careers, both men became spokesmen for different brands of vodka — Combs worked with Ciroc and 50 Cent worked with Effen Vodka. During interviews, 50 Cent actively badmouthed Ciroc and Combs' decision to partner with the brand, furthering their divide.

Ultimately, 50 Cent explained to THR that Diddy made him feel "uncomfortable" from early on, when he offered to take 50 Cent shopping for clothes, which he felt was "the weirdest s**t in the world." The rapper and producer also said that he actively avoided attending any of Combs' now infamous and controversial parties. "I've been very vocal about not going to Puffy parties and doing s**t like that," 50 Cent told the outlet. "I've been staying out of that s**t for years. It's just an uncomfortable energy connected to it."