Two police officers are suing Artists Equity, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and their LLC production company Falco Productions, over The Rip. Miami-Dade Officers Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana claim that the Netflix crime drama damaged their reputations.
The Rip tells the story of Lt. Dane Dumars (Damon) and Detective Sgt. J.D. Byrne (Affleck), who discover $20 million in cash from a cartel. The funds begin to reveal rampant corruption in the Miami-Dade Police Department.
The Rip
Neither Smith nor Santana is mentioned by name in the movie but they are the real-life officers who seized $21 million. In the lawsuit, they allege that “the film’s use of unique, non-generic details of the June 29, 2016, investigation, combined with its Miami-Dade setting and portrayal of a narcotics team, creates a reasonable inference that the officers depicted are Plaintiffs.”
Despite the initial operation seen in the film being based on them, they claim that the rest is pure fiction. This has caused “substantial harm to their personal and professional reputations.” Mostly because the movie does “imply misconduct, poor judgment, and unethical behavior in connection with a real law enforcement operation.”
The officers claim that family members and colleagues said that they “must have used seized funds to complete personal property improvements, purchase vehicles and vessels, and afford private schooling for their children.” Their lawyers believe “that viewers are associating the Miami-Dade Police Department and Plaintiffs with the corrupt portrayals in The Rip.”
In December 2025, Smith and Santana’s lawyers sent a letter outlining their concerns about the movie and demanding that they “cease and desist from releasing.” The Rip hit Netflix in January 2026. Afterwards, they received a response saying their “concerns are unfounded because the film did not expressly name Sergeant Smith and there was no implication that the Plaintiffs engaged in any misconduct in the film.”
Smith and Santana are alleging defamation per se, defamation by implication, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. They are seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees. Along with demanding “a public retraction and correction,” including “the addition of a prominent disclaimer” to The Rip.
We’ll keep you posted on updates about this lawsuit as it develops.
