The two friends' latest movie, The Rip - which is produced by their own company, Artists Equity - sees them play two police officers who uncover corruption within the Miami-Dade Police Department after discovering cartel cash, and a new lawsuit has accused them of defaming the real people who allegedly inspired the tale.
Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana are officers in the Miami-Dade Sherrif's Office, and while they are not mentioned by name in the film, they are suing Artists Equity and Affleck and Damon's LLC production company Falco Productions over the depiction of law enforcement characters in The Rip.
According to documents obtained by Entertainment Weekly, the lawsuit argues Lt Dane Dumars (Damon) and Detective Sgt JD Byrne (Affleck) are so heavily associated with Smith and Santana that their portrayal has resulted in "substantial harm to their personal and professional reputations" because the movie and its advertisements "imply misconduct, poor judgment, and unethical behaviour in connection with a real law enforcement operation".
The officers have brought claims of defamation per se and defamation by implication, as well as one for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
According to the complaint, The Rip is inspired by a real-life incident in June 2016, when Smith and Santana seized more than $21 million, an so they argued "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."
The complaint highlighted a number of moments in the movie where the characters bend the rules when it comes to procedure, including one scene where Affleck's alter ego kills a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent.
The movie opens with text that says the project was "inspired by true events," but the complaint argued that apart from "the fact that a large seizure occurred, the events portrayed in the film did not happen".
The Rip has allegedly led to the cops' family members and colleagues suggesting they "must have used seized funds to complete personal property improvements, purchase vehicles and vessels, and afford private schooling for their children" as a result of what they saw in the movie, leading Smith and Santana's lawyers to argue "that viewers are associating the Miami-Dade Police Department and Plaintiffs with the corrupt portrayals in The Rip".
According to the lawsuit, the two men had sent a letter detailing the alleged defamatory details to the production companies before taking action and had demanded they "cease and desist from releasing" it in December 2025.
But the defendants allegedly failed to respond until after The Rip was released in January, when they argued the "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".
The men are seeking damages and attorneys' fees, as well as "a public retraction and correction," including "the addition of a prominent disclaimer" to the movie.
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