Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s latest crime thriller “The Rip” has sparked some off-screen drama, with two South Florida police officers suing the actors’ production company over claims the film hits a little too close to home, according to the Associated Press.
Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office sergeants Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana filed a defamation lawsuit against Artists Equity, the production company owned by Mr. Affleck and Mr. Damon, arguing that the Netflix film used too many real-life details from a 2016 narcotics case they worked on.
In that case, police discovered more than $21 million connected to a suspected marijuana trafficker inside a Miami Lakes home. According to the lawsuit, “The Rip” ripped off a similar premise, following officers who find millions of dollars inside a house, but the story quickly turns into a fictional web of corruption, murder, cartel involvement and betrayal.
Although Mr. Smith and Mr. Santana are not named in the movie, the lawsuit argues that enough specific details were used for friends, family and colleagues to assume the characters were based on them. They claim this has damaged both their personal and professional reputations, especially because the film includes officers stealing drug money, murdering a superior officer, setting fires and even killing a federal agent.
Artists Equity has denied the claims, pointing to a disclaimer in the film stating it does not portray real people or tell a true story. Their legal team also argued that the officers never identified which specific characters were supposedly based on them.
