Miami-Dade officers suing over Matt Damon and Ben Affleck movie 'The Rip'

Nbcwashington · May 11, 2026 · 624 words · By NBC6

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What to know about Miami-Dade officers suing over Matt Damon and Ben Affleck movie 'The Rip'

Two Miami-Dade officers are suing over the recent Ben Affleck and Matt Damon movie "The Rip" claiming it has defamed them.

Claims checked 9

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Two Miami-Dade officers are suing over the recent Ben Affleck and Matt Damon movie "The Rip" claiming it has defamed them.

Why it matters

Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana, sergeants in the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, are suing the stars' production company as well as another production company over the film, which was released by Netflix in January.

Common ground

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Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Miami-Dade officers suing over Matt Damon and Ben Affleck movie 'The Rip'?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The lawsuit said that letters were sent to the production companies - Falco Pictures, LLC, and Artists Equity, LLC - to demand a public detraction and other "corrective measures" that weren't implemented?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/miami-dade-officers-su…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6

help Insufficient Evidence 1

info Single Source 1

verified Verified By Reference 1

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Claim 1: “The lawsuit said that letters were sent to the production companies - Falco Pictures, LLC, and Artists Equity, LLC - to demand a public detraction and other "corrective measures" that weren't implemented.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including Entertainment Weekly and MSN, identify Falco Pictures, LLC and Artists Equity, LLC as the defendants and mention the accusations of defamation per se.

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web search NEUTRAL — The Rip, that being Matt Damon nd Ben Affleck. Damon and A fl the Film at Artists Equity. 4. Defendant, FALCO PICTURES, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company having its principal place of busine…
https://kyma.b-cdn.net/2026/05/1.pdf

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web search NEUTRAL — The officers' complaint, which has been obtained and reviewed by Entertainment Weekly, accuses Artists Equity and Affleck and Damon's LLC production company Falco Productions of defamation per se ...
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/ben-affl…

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web search NEUTRAL — Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are being sued by two police officers over their new Netflix movie, The Rip. Artists Equity and the actors' LLC production company Falco Productions have been accused of ...
https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/celebrities/ben-affl…

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Claim 2: “Two Miami-Dade officers are suing over the recent Ben Affleck and Matt Damon movie "The Rip" claiming it has defamed them.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent news sources (CNN, MSN, and other web search results) confirm that two Miami-Dade officers are suing over the movie 'The Rip' for defamation.

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web search NEUTRAL — Miami-Dade officers suing over Matt Damon and Ben Affleck movie ‘The Rip'. 2 hours ago.What prompted two Miami police officers to file a lawsuit against Ben Affleck and Matt Damon regarding their port…
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…

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web search NEUTRAL — Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in The Rip.Two Miami sheriff’s deputies have filed a lawsuit against Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, claiming the Hollywood actors’ portrayal in a Netflix crime drama makes them…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/11/miami-deputi…

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web search NEUTRAL — Two South Florida police officers claim Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s recent action thriller “The Rip” used too many real-life details in its fictionalized narrative, causing harm to the officers’ pers…
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/12/entertainment/matt-damon-ben-…

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Claim 3: “Netflix is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, which in addition to defamation, claims intentional infliction of emotional distress and that Smith and Santana have suffered economic harm.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources explicitly state that while Netflix distributed the film, it is not named as a defendant, and the suit includes claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress and economic harm.

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web search NEUTRAL — Netflix is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, which in addition to defamation, claims intentional infliction of emotional distress and that Smith and Santana have suffered economic harm.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/miami-dade-officers-sui…

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web search NEUTRAL — Defamation per se; defamation by implication; intentional infliction of emotional distress.Netflix distributed the film but is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The suit targets Artists Equity …
https://allaboutlawyer.com/the-rip-defamation-lawsuit-miami-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Yesterday that came to pass. Harvey has filed a $170m (£133m) lawsuit against Netflix in California, accusing the company of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross…
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/jun/07…

help

Claim 4: “the message "inspired by true events" appears prominently at the beginning of the film, a longer disclaimer only appears after the film and its credits.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific placement or wording of the 'inspired by true events' disclaimer or the end-credit disclaimer.

info

Claim 5: “the Film’s raid took place in Hialeah instead of Miami Lakes, the house in the Film belongs to a woman instead of a man, and the Film’s plotlines regarding corrupt law enforcement and a murdered police captain are fictional”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the general plot of the movie is confirmed, the specific distinctions between the film's version (Hialeah, woman owner, murdered captain) and the real event are not explicitly corroborated across multiple independent sources in the provided evidence, though they likely stem from the lawsuit's specific allegations.

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web search NEUTRAL — The Rip is a 2026 American action thriller film written and directed by Joe Carnahan, who developed the story with Michael McGrale. The film stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as police officers in the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rip_(film)

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web search NEUTRAL — Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia, created and edited by volunteers around the world and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation.
https://www.wikipedia.org/

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web search NEUTRAL — Upon discovering millions in cash in a derelict stash house, trust among a team of Miami cops begins to fray. As outside forces learn about the size of the s...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARU2WHyOPxE

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Claim 6: “The lawsuit, filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, said the actual raid was supervised by Smith and executed by Santana”

CORROBORATED

Court records and news reports confirm a federal defamation lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of Florida involving Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana.

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web search NEUTRAL — Miami-Dade narcotics detectives Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana filed a federal defamation lawsuit in a Florida federal district court against Artists Equity — the production company founded by Matt …
https://allaboutlawyer.com/the-rip-defamation-lawsuit-miami-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Florida Southern District Court. Judge: Cecilia M Altonaga. Case #: 1:26-cv-23213. Nature of Suit. 360 Torts - Personal Injury - Other Personal Injury. Cause.Falco Pictures, LLC. Plaintiff. Jonathan S…
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/64518594/Smith_et_a…

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web search NEUTRAL — United States District Court. Southern District of New York. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain. Tammi M. Hellwig, Clerk of Court.
https://nysd.uscourts.gov/

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Claim 7: “Parts of the movie were inspired by real events surrounding the 2016 raid of a home in Miami Lakes in which over $21 million was found in hidden five-gallon buckets linked to a suspected marijuana trafficker.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm the film takes inspiration from a 2016 drug bust in Miami Lakes where over $21 million was seized in buckets.

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web search NEUTRAL — Two Miami-Dade officers are suing over the recent Ben Affleck and Matt Damon movie “The Rip” claiming it has defamed them.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/miami-dade-officers-sui…

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web search NEUTRAL — Over $21 million was seized. Luis Hernandez-Gonzalez was taken into custody on several drug and firearms charges stemming from an investigation by the Miami-Dade police and the Drug Enforcement Admini…
https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/the-22m-drug-bust-in-mia…

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Claim 8: “Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana, sergeants in the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, are suing the stars' production company as well as another production company over the film, which was released by Netflix in January.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources identify the plaintiffs as Sergeants Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana of the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office and note the lawsuit targets production companies regarding the Netflix film.

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web search NEUTRAL — Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana, sergeants in the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, are suing the stars' production company as well as another production company over the film, which was released by ...
https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/miami-dade-officers-suin…

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web search NEUTRAL — Two Miami police officers are suing Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's production company for defamation, claiming that the actors' recent Netflix crime drama, 'The Rip,' harmed their 'personal and ...
https://ew.com/ben-affleck-matt-damon-sued-by-miami-cops-for…

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web search NEUTRAL — Who is suing?: Sergeants Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana from the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office have taken legal action against Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's production companies. Why the ...
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/movies/miami-officer…

verified

Claim 9: “In the film, Affleck and Damon play officers in the Miami-Dade Police Department, now known as the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, who find millions in cash stashed inside a house.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia explicitly states that the film stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as police officers in the Miami-Dade Police Department narcotics unit, and other sources confirm the plot involves finding millions in cash.

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web search NEUTRAL — The film stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as police officers in the Miami-Dade Police Department narcotics unit. It also stars Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Sasha Calle, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Scott A…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rip_(film)

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web search NEUTRAL — A new film starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon called "The Rip" is taking inspiration from a 2016 drug bust in Miami, Florida, that became the largest money seizure in Miami-Dade County history.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.