Legal Battle Over New Netflix Film
A new legal battle has emerged involving two of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. The actors are facing a defamation lawsuit from Miami police officers over their latest film, The Rip, which is available on Netflix. The movie, produced by their own company, Artists Equity, follows the story of two police officers who uncover corruption within the Miami-Dade Police Department after discovering $20 million in cartel cash.
The lawsuit, filed by officers Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana, claims that the portrayal of law enforcement characters in the film has caused significant harm to their personal and professional reputations. Although the officers are not named in the movie, they argue that the characters played by Damon and Affleck—Lt. Dane Dumars and Detective Sgt. J.D. Byrne—are so closely associated with them that the depiction implies misconduct, poor judgment, and unethical behavior.
According to the court documents obtained by Entertainment Weekly, the lawsuit includes claims of defamation per se and defamation by implication, as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress. The officers argue that the film’s use of specific details from a real-life incident in June 2016, where they seized over $21 million, creates a reasonable inference that the characters in the movie are based on them.
The complaint highlights several scenes in the film where the characters bend the rules, including one where Affleck’s character kills a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent. The movie opens with text stating it was “inspired by true events,” but the lawsuit argues that apart from the fact that a large seizure occurred, the events portrayed in the film did not happen.
The impact of the film has reportedly extended beyond the actors, with family members and colleagues of the officers suggesting that they “must have used seized funds to complete personal property improvements, purchase vehicles and vessels, and afford private schooling for their children.” This has led the officers’ lawyers to argue that viewers are associating the Miami-Dade Police Department and the plaintiffs with the corrupt portrayals in The Rip.
According to the lawsuit, the officers had sent a letter detailing the alleged defamatory details to the production companies before taking legal action. They demanded that the production companies “cease and desist from releasing” the film in December 2025. However, the defendants allegedly failed to respond until after The Rip was released in January this year, when they argued that the concerns were unfounded because the film did not explicitly name Sergeant Smith and there was no implication that the plaintiffs engaged in any misconduct in the film.
The officers are seeking damages and attorney fees, as well as a public retraction and correction, including the addition of a prominent disclaimer to the movie. The Daily Mail has contacted Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s representatives for comment.
