Matt Damon and Ben Affleck Sued by Two Miami Police Officers
What started as a Netflix crime thriller is now turning into a very real legal battle in South Florida.
Two Miami-Dade law enforcement officers are suing the production company behind The Rip, the Netflix drama starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleckthat premiered earlier this year, claiming the film unfairly damaged their reputations.
Outlets reports that the lawsuit, filed earlier this month names Artists Equity (the production company founded by Damon and Affleck) along with Falco Pictures. Officers Jonathan Santana and Jason Smith argue the movie borrows heavily from a real 2016 Miami Lakes drug investigation that resulted in the largest cash seizure in South Florida history.
During that operation, authorities discovered more than $20 million hidden in the attic of a Miami Lakes home, packed inside orange buckets after a yearslong drug trafficking investigation.
Santana, now a deputy with the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, says the film crossed a line by depicting officers involved in a similar case as dirty cops. "When you rip something, you're stealing something. We never stole a dollar," Santana told Miami 7News.
According to the lawsuit, the officers have faced constant jokes and accusations since the movie's January release, with people repeatedly asking Santana "how many buckets of money" he kept.
Attorney Ignacio Alvarez, who represents the officers, argued the film has caused lasting reputational damage. "They portrayed police officers as dirty, they portrayed my clients as dirty. Now their reputations are hurt," Alvarez said.
The lawsuit also claims producers should have consulted Santana and Smith directly during development instead of using another officer who allegedly was not involved in the original investigation.
But the controversy surrounding The Rip isn't entirely new in South Florida. Shortly after the film debuted, local officials in Hialeah criticized the movie for what they believed was an unfair portrayal of the area and law enforcement.
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This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 4:52 PM.