Miami Police Sues Matt Damon, Ben Affleck Over ‘The Rip’ Corrupt Allegation
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Two Miami police sergeants after a $22 million drug bust are suing the 2026 movie “The Rip,” saying the Matt Damon and Ben Affleck film falsely portrays them as bad cops based on their real-life case.
The lawsuit names Artists Equity, the production company founded by the two stars, and Falco Pictures, which is also involved in the production of the film. Netflix, which distributed the film, was not named in the lawsuit.
“Rip” was advertised as “inspired by true events,” including how the Miami-Dade narcotics unit found $21.9 million hidden behind a fake wall of orange buckets. However, according to the lawsuit, a core conspiracy about their inappropriate behavior was created.
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Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are set to play Miami drug detectives in “The Rip,” a 2026 film inspired by the historic seizure of $22 million in suspected marijuana. (Claire Folger/Netflix © 2024)
In real life, investigators raided the home of a garden store owner who was allegedly involved in marijuana trafficking in 2016, according to the lawsuit. It was the largest seizure in the history of the Miami-Dade Police Department, now the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.
In this film, members of the drug unit are accused of stealing some of the money by lying for their own benefit. It also features a fictional DEA agent involved in the murder of a Miami police chief, who is also killed by Affleck’s character later, without due process.
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Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are set to play Miami drug detectives in “The Rip,” a 2026 film inspired by the historic seizure of $22 million in suspected marijuana. (Claire Folger/Netflix © 2024)
Although the film has a fictional undertone, the lawsuit alleges that it included enough real-world facts to damage the reputations of Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana, including local settings, details about a false wall, money found in orange buckets, and a loaded Tech 9 gun hidden in cash.
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Smith was the sergeant in charge of the original investigation. Santana was the lead detective and has been promoted to the rank of sergeant. Their names were not used in the movie, but the lawsuit claims they were the basis for the actors Damon and Affleck played on screen.
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According to the lawsuit, after the release of the movie’s trailer, the district attorney contacted one of them asking, “if there were any allegations of theft ever made in connection with this case, and he said his office would look into it.”
They alleged that they also faced questions about “how many buckets they had saved,” that they used the stolen money to pay for repairs to the house, and the killing of the lieutenant.
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Matt Damon attends the Netflix premiere of “The Rip” New York at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, on Jan. 13, 2026, New York City.
“I can’t believe you killed another police officer,” the district attorney told one of the plaintiffs after the video was released, according to the lawsuit.
On top of that, it is said that the film was loaned to a member of the department who is not connected to the investigation and was then paid for in consultation with him.
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Smith and Santana are seeking more than $75,000 in damages for alleged defamation and emotional distress. The lawsuit also accuses Hollywood as a whole of portraying police officers poorly on screen, noting that police departments across the country are struggling with recruitment and retention.
Damon and Affleck themselves publicly stated that the police are “thankless” and “underpaid” in an interview with Howard Stern promoting the film.
Before the trial, they had asked for the retraction and correction of the public and prominent statement related to the film or the end of its distribution.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon attend the premiere of “The Rip” at Alice Tully Hall in New York City on Jan. 13, 2026. (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
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The producers of the film argue that the fictional film already has a disclaimer and that the characters are not real people.
Attorneys for Smith and Santana have until tomorrow to file an amended complaint to satisfy the judge’s jurisdiction, according to court documents. If they fail to meet the deadline, the case will be dismissed.
