Karam Gill, director of the forthcoming docuseries Supervillain: The Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine, has labelled the rapper a “truly horrible human”.

The new series comes to Showtime on February 21, and follows another film on the controversial rapper, 69: The Saga Of Daniel Hernandez, which landed last November.

“We’re living in the era of manufactured celebrity, where people can create inauthentic online personas and rise to fame without any talent or morals,” Gill told Page Six.

“Tekashi’s story is exactly that — he’s someone who realised the power of having your own platform.”

“I think viewers will be shocked to realise how hyper calculated he is. Tekashi was someone who never did anything online on accident. Every click, word and action online was designed with care to spark a reaction. His understanding of how human beings operate on these platforms is incredible.”

Going on to call Daniel Hernandez a “truly horrible human being,” Gill said he wanted to capture a time “where we have seen pop culture figures, and even presidents, shape their own realities and manipulate us all through digital media”.

In response to the new documentary, Tekashi’s Lance Lazzaro told Page Six that the representation given in the film is “the furthest from the truth”.

“Daniel Hernandez never was interviewed for [the documentary], and never participated,” he said. “It is interesting and almost unbelievable without ever having met the person… how [the director] characterised him. It’s hard to fathom. No one can comment about his talent… and how he characterised him when he never met the person.”

Reviewing last year’s 69: The Saga Of Daniel Hernandez documentary, NME wrote: “The making of 69 might make perfect sense, but its existence leaves some bigger questions. Does this person deserve to be immortalised in this way? Is this not just playing into Hernandez’s hands, further feeding the troll?”