The Reckoning’ Director Alexandria Stapleton On The Power Of Storytelling

You’ve probably binged the docuseries ‘Sean Combs: The Reckoning’ on Netflix and you’re not the only one – it became the number 1 top TV show globally in its premiere week and dominated the top series on Netflix.

Most viewers know that the show was produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, but there’s a fierce female voice that powered the story – and its success: Emmy award winning director and executive producer Alexandria Stapleton, who has just been nominated for a Directors Guild of America award for her work on the docuseries.

With an impressive Hollywood career uncovering the untold stories across sports, music, pop culture and social justice, Stapleton has a strong message for all the aspiring storytellers out there: “Go out there and just start making.”

I recently spoke with Stapleton about her career-long journey with storytelling, how she earned trust with the subjects of ‘Sean Combs: The Reckoning’ to share the most difficult moments of their lives on film, and her views on women’s representation in the film industry. Here’s everything she had to say.

The Origin Story of ‘Sean Combs: The Reckoning’

Alyssa Jaffer: Let’s start with ‘Sean Combs: The Reckoning’. How did it come about?

Alexandria Stapleton: “The immediate draw to the story for me was the day that Cassie’s lawsuit dropped. I, like the rest of the world, was floored and shocked with her allegations. It seemed as though it was a very different world than the Sean Combs that was publicly presented for decades. That juxtaposed with what she was alleging… I felt compelled to begin an investigation into how both of these worlds could be happening at the same time.

“As furious as the noise was around her civil suit and her allegations, it quickly went away because she settled. Literally it was within 24 hours. It was like a bomb had gone off.”

Alyssa Jaffer: Why did you decide to get involved in this project?

Alexandria Stapleton: “There were other people that were brought into her story, and that’s when the work for me began. At that time, I happened to be working with G-Unit and 50 [Cent] and as I was curious to figure out if I could do something with this story, 50 was very public about the fact that he was putting together a documentary. So we had a conversation about joining forces to create this docuseries together.

“I had already known 50 and knew a little bit about how his brain works and that he really relishes and appreciates storytelling when it lives in the gray, and the nuances to really complex subject matter. So I knew that it would be the right partnership.”

Alyssa Jaffer: With such sensitive subject matter, what was the most important part of the storytelling of the series for you?

Alexandria Stapleton: “While Cassie’s allegations were very much rooted in sexual violence and sexual assault, I felt compelled to open up the story into a broader lens to get the context of how do we even arrive at a place where this could happen.

“I feel like with sensitive matters surrounding sexual violence and domestic violence, far too often, the media treats as salacious headlines and there’s very two-dimensional reporting that’s done on issues like this. In a post-Me Too world, as a woman, as a filmmaker, I really felt it was imperative to open up the story, give context to everything, create a space for victims and clear a path for them to tell their whole story and not just focus on the horrible things that happened to them.

“Context is a very critical and foundational part of storytelling, and when you rip away the context of someone’s story, especially when they’re a victim, you’re cheating the fuller picture.”

The Challenges And Rewards Of Directing ‘Sean Combs: The Reckoning’

Alyssa Jaffer: What was the most challenging part of the project?

Alexandria Stapleton: “The most challenging thing was dealing with subject matter like this. In the ecosystem that Sean Combs created, there inherently was a lot of fear built into his world. You see decades of people that have been – in their words – erased, blacklisted. Many people were in actual fear of their lives, of their livelihoods, of embarrassment…people harbouring such shameful parts of their story and being siloed and not having a community to share their experiences with. Entering into that dynamic was very complicated and challenging to garner trust with everyone that sat down with me.

“When I started this, we didn’t know if there was ever going to be an indictment. The public did not know where this was going to go. There was so much tension and fear about what was going to happen and if they would be punished – mentally, financially – for sharing their stories.”

Alyssa Jaffer: Given that culture of fear and real consequences of people speaking out, how did you build trust with the people whose stories you shared?

Alexandria Stapleton: “Some of the trust came from the fact that people in the community knew that 50 [Cent] was part of the project. They understood that I’m not going to gather your story and give it to Sean or to his camp.

“And lots and lots of patience and hours and hours of conversations with people, getting them comfortable with being in conversation with me. It was really important to me that the interviews felt very intimate and I wanted the public in viewing this to feel like you’re sitting down and listening to Capricorn Clark, you’re sitting across from Kirk, you’re talking to Aubrey O’Day.

“There was also trust that had to go into people that were defending Sean, to make sure that they knew that it was okay for them to defend Sean. It was okay for them to say that they never saw any of these things happen and their experience was entirely different in working with him. I don’t want to cheat that part of the equation or those voices either.”

Alyssa Jaffer: What was the most rewarding part of the project?

Alexandria Stapleton: “I’m still pinching myself that so many people are watching this series! As a filmmaker, it gives me faith in the world that people are not just coming to watch, but they’re watching four hours of a series and it’s sparking a lot of conversations.

“I like to say that with my work, I’m not here to always answer the questions. I don’t think that a documentary has to do that. Sometimes, it’s not about the answer. The most powerful part of the medium of making film, and especially with docs, is holding a mirror to ourselves as people. What do we tolerate, how do we celebrate celebrity and who do we give the benefit of the doubt to?

“So many people, for the very first time, felt uninterrupted to put their voice out there. So many of these people that contributed to this film were silenced, and were laughed at by the media – some of the same people that are singing their praises are the people that ignored them decades ago.

“The most rewarding part is seeing some of them actually pivoting, to move on and understand that their identity is not being a victim in the Sean Combs story.”

Alyssa Jaffer: A lot of the reaction we’ve seen to the series is disappointment that justice was not adequately served and particularly that women’s most vulnerable stories were not believed. How do you handle that? Why is it significant for you to have told this story anyway?

Alexandria Stapleton: “Because I think that we always have to push ourselves as a civilised community to ask ourselves, who do we get the benefit of the doubt to? And why?

“At the end of the day, Sean Combs was given the benefit of the doubt. His truth was what the jury felt stronger with and they did not feel that they could 1000% get behind believing the victims who took the stand.

“It’s really interesting and very curious and it made me want to poke to understand why. Is that because he’s famous? Is that because over decades we have seen him get in trouble with the law? He’s been on trial before. He’s also a genius at creating his own narrative and did that play a role in the trial? I think that if you ask the jurors, they would tell you no. But if you ask the victims, they would tell you yes. There is so much more to that conversation that needs to live on and needs to continue to be challenged.”

Working In The Post-Me Too Film Industry

Alyssa Jaffer: Even after the Me Too Movement, Hollywood is still not an easy place to be a woman. What’s been your experience?

Alexandria Stapleton: “As the pendulum swings we see so many rights stripped away from women, and that culturally, it’s now become okay to embarrass, bash, discredit women in so many different industries, not just in mine. It’s almost like the work that was done on an institutional and systemic level to protect women and minorities – those are the first to disappear and get axed. I’ve never lived through something like this before. I’m learning like everyone else.

“I’ve worked really hard to try to stay in community with fellow female filmmakers. I think that community, power in numbers, is a really important component to keeping up the strength and the stamina, to continue to make stories and to stay in the fight. Making documentaries is a very taxing and very difficult type of filmmaking. Right now, I’ve just chosen to really go deep into my work and to let that be my resistance.

“Women matter. And especially female filmmakers. We matter.”

The Unique Power Of Storytelling

Alyssa Jaffer: Tell me what it means to you to be a successful storyteller in the film industry, who is also a black woman. What do you want others, who are minorities and their respective fields, particularly women and women of colour to know or do?

Alexandria Stapleton: “Community is really important. Being patient and not allowing what’s happening in the world to weigh you down to the point where you cannot create. That’s a very real challenge to people who come from underrepresented communities. I just hope that people can stay encouraged.

“The landscape of media is changing in such a crazy way and at lightning speed. But there’s ways to get your story out there in the most untraditional ways. I think that’s really exciting. I hope people can try to move away from the discouragement and find ways to create and invent new systems of getting their voices out there.”

Alyssa Jaffer: What would you say to young, aspiring female filmmakers who are struggling to tell their stories?

Alexandria Stapleton: “I have learned that when I can turn challenges into a way for me to connect with people in my films, like an empathy bridge to understand their perspective, it’s something that can be a positive experience as a filmmaker.

“With ‘The Reckoning’, the challenges that I’ve experienced allowed me to connect with the victims in this story, even though we come from totally different backgrounds. We were able to communicate and speak the same language by sharing those feelings like you’re on the outside.

“If I could talk to my younger self, I would say to not get so fixated and trying to be perfect or trying to obsess about the opportunity versus just making. Create, make, create, make – every day. Make the story that you want to make.”