Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are being sued through their production company, Artists Equity, over their latest Netflix crime thriller, The Rip, which Miami police allege falsely depicts them as “dirty.”
Released in January, the movie, starring Damon and Affleck, opens with a disclaimer that it is “inspired by true events.” Writer and director Joe Carnahan has previously discussed that it was based on the 2016 Miami Lakes narcotics raid, during which the Miami-Dade Police Department — now known as the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Department — seized more than $24 million in laundered cash, marking the largest money forfeiture in Miami-Dade history.
In a new lawsuit, multiple officers involved in the original 2016 bust have claimed that the film has caused “unfair reputational harm,” according to local outlet 7 News Miami.
Speaking to the outlet, Jonathan Santana, the lead detective of the 2016 case, said: “When you rip something, you’re stealing something. We never stole a dollar.”
Santana said that while he was previously praised for his work on the 10-year-old case, since The Rip’s premiere, he has been mocked by people, “pretty much saying, you know, how many buckets of money did I steal?”
The film sees Damon and Affleck reunite on-screen as the lead officers conducting the drug raid. After discovering the enormous sum of cash, the team’s alliance and trust are tested. Teyana Taylor, Sasha Calle, Scott Adkins and Steven Yeun also feature.
The lawsuit also alleges that The Rip included fabricated storylines to portray police corruption, cartel dealings and even murder. The complaint cites numerous scenes from the film, including moments in which officers deceive suspects, maintain direct contact with the cartel and consider illegally pocketing a portion of the uncovered money.
“They portrayed police officers as dirty, they portrayed my clients as dirty,” Santana’s lawyer, Ignacio Alvarez, argued. “Now their reputations are hurt.”
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He added: “My clients are now hurt for the rest of their lives with everybody perceives that they’re dirty.”
The Independent has contacted Alvarez and Artists Equity for comment.
This is not the first time The Rip has faced backlash. Immediately following the movie’s release, Hialeah Mayor Bryan Calvo argued that it portrayed his city as dangerous and disrespected his law enforcement.
Although the film is inspired by the events in Miami Lakes, it is set in Hialeah, a city located northwest of Miami.
“I know Hialeah has been the butt of the joke for a long time,” Calvo said during a press conference at the time. “But that ends now. This movie is a slap in the face to our law enforcement personnel.”
