New lawsuit claims defamation over crime drama, The Rip

Two police officers from the Miami-Dade area have pushed out a lawsuit against actors and filmmakers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon over the portrayal of officers in their Netflix crime drama, The Rip. The officers — Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana — claim they were the inspiration of the drama and that it caused “substantial harm” both personally and professionally.

In documents acquired by Entertainment Weekly, the real-life event that inspired The Rip involved both officers and while neither were named, they took issue with instances of Affleck and Damon’s flick bending police procedures like killing a Drug Enforcement Administration agent. The plaintiffs also note that a mass seizure never happened and that it was misleading to open the film with “inspired by true events.”

Attorneys representing Smith and Santana claim that both colleagues and even family have claimed to have said the duo must’ve used the seized money for personal gain. They also note this has soured the perception of the entire Miami-Dade Police Department, as well.

What is The Rip?

The Rip is a crime drama directed and co-written by Joe Carnahan alongside Michael McGrale and released earlier this year to Netflix. Both Damon and Affleck serve as producers and stars. Their production company, Artists Equity, was also the studio behind it.

The film sees Lt. Dane Dumars — played by Damon — and Detective Sgt. J.D. Byrne — Affleck — as they discover corruption within the Miami-Dade Police Department after finding $20 million in cartel cash.