Miami cops have sued the production company of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, alleging they were defamed when the 2026 movie The Rip wrongly portrayed them as corrupt.
The movie, marketed as “inspired by true events,” was based on a massive narcotics bust made by Miami-Dade County deputies on June 29, 2016. The lawsuit alleges the Netflix film unfairly damaged the reputations of the actual officers involved with the case.
“When you rip something, you’re stealing something,” Jonathan Santana, the lead detective on the real-life case, said. “We never stole a dollar.”
During the real-life drug bust, officers discovered nearly $22 million in cash that was hidden in a fake wall in a Miami Lakes home.
The lawsuit, filed this week in federal court in Florida, says the film recreated several distinct details from the case while falsely portraying the cops as corrupt and scheming to swipe the seized cash for themselves.
The lawsuit names Artists Equity, the production company founded by Affleck and Damon, and co-producer Falco Pictures, as defendants. In the movie, released in January, Affleck and Damon played leading roles and co-produced.
Artists Equity did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
The lawsuit also claimed that The Rip added fabricated plotlines to portray police corruption, cartel dealings, and even murder. It cites specific scenes in the movie in which officers discuss stealing some of the seized cash, as well as lying to suspects and communicating directly with the cartel.
“They portrayed police officers as dirty, they portrayed my clients as dirty,” Ignacio Alvarez, attorney for plaintiffs, said. “Now their reputations are hurt.”
The attorney added, “My clients are now hurt for the rest of their lives with everybody perceives that they’re dirty.”
