50 Cent on filing for bankruptcy: ‘When you’re successful, you become a target’

50 Cent

Yesterday, TMZ reported that Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. 50 filed three days after a jury ordered him to pay $5 million for leaking an adult film featuring Lavonia Leviston. The jury determined that 50 intentionally leaked the tape to embarrass her partner, rapper Rick Ross. The jury still hadn’t ruled on punitive damages, which would be based upon 50’s proof of income. So he filed for bankruptcy, of course. His estimated assets run between $10 and $50 million, but 50 is said to be in great debt. He recently lost another court case (involving theft of headphone design) for $17.2 million. TMZ (per Forbes) says 50 was worth $155 million earlier this year.

It’s hard to feel sorry for 50 Cent, whose rap lyrics are mainly about how rich he is was. Mashable put together an extensive list of lyrics like, “I’m stanky rich / I’ma die tryna spend this sh*t.” 50 also had a habit of flaunting huge wads of money, such as the time he posted photos of himself playing with $500K in cash. He also tweets photos like this, which looks like the Kirk Cameron birthday-party equivalent of a foot massage:

Fiddy broke his short-lived silence to tell E! why he filed for bankruptcy:

“I’m taking the precautions that any other good businessperson would take in this situation,” the rapper, real name Curtis Jackson, told E! News exclusively today at his Southpaw junket. “You know when you’re successful and stuff, you become a target. I don’t wanna be a bulls eye. I don’t want anybody to pick me as the guy that they just come to with astronomical claims and go through all that.”

50 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier today following a sex tape lawsuit that cost him a pretty large chunk of money. A jury recently awarded Lavonia Leviston $5 million after they determined the hip-hop star leaked a sex tape of her and another man.

“Walt Disney has filed bankruptcy. Donald Trump has filed bankruptcy,” the hip-hop star continued to E! News. “It means you’re reorganizing your finances, but it does stop things from moving forward that you don’t want moving forward.”

“I gotta descent [sic] legal team,” he added. “You don’t have to worry.”

According to the bankruptcy legal docs obtained by E! News, 50 says his assets are valued between $10 million and $50 million and his liabilities are also between the same range. 50 also says the debts are primarily consumer debts and lists his estimated number of creditors as between 1 and 49.

50’s attorney William A. Brewer III said in a statement Monday, “This filing for personal bankruptcy protection permits Mr. Jackson to continue his involvement with various business interests and continue his work as an entertainer, while he pursues an orderly reorganization of his financial affairs.”

[From E! Online]

To 50 Cent, “reorganizing your finances” mostly means trying to discharge the lawsuit judgments against him. This is a douche move, of course. 50 caused financial and emotional harm, which is why he got sued in the first place. Now he’s trying to weasel out of paying a dime. Then he has the nerve to tell E!, “You don’t have to worry.” Was anyone actually worried about 50 Cent?

50 Cent

50 Cent

Photos courtesy of WENN

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50 Responses to “50 Cent on filing for bankruptcy: ‘When you’re successful, you become a target’”

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  1. Loopy says:

    50 Cent is a miserable nasty bully, he acts like he is in middle school, always on the troll. Hope that woman gets some justice.

  2. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    In order to pass the legal test for bankruptcy, your debts have to exceed your assets. If he can pay his debts, he will have to, even if it leaves him with nothing. So he’s just buying time. This will stop his creditors from forcing a sale of his assets at possibly rock bottom prices. But if your assets and debts are equal, you are not bankrupt, and the court will dismiss his case.

    If for some reason his debts are reduced, this will hurt the small business who threw all of its resources into providing him with goods or services thinking it would be great for business. His inability to pay will greatly damage them or even put them out of business.

    • GiGi says:

      Not necessarily. A lot is dependent upon how his many businesses are organized. In the entertainment industry, a lot of your personal expenses can be written off, so many people LLC themselves so they can take the proper deductions. It wouldn’t surprise me if Curtis Jackson, personally, could claim bankruptcy to get out of paying this court debt, but have his companies hold all his liquid wealth. This is the reorganization he’s talking about.

      • OrigialTessa says:

        Exactly. He’ll hide all of his money in his businesses. He has a bunch if I’m not mistaken. No one feel sorry for 50…

      • woodstock_schulz says:

        @Gigi – that’s my understanding as well, that’s why people who are big business types put most of their stuff in the business’ name and hold very little personally. I also heard a while back that 50 cent owns a piece of the Vitamin Water company?

      • blue marie says:

        That’s what I was thinking Gigi..

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        Mmm, true. Hadn’t thought of the shelter aspect. So the little guy will get screwed as usual.

    • LookyLoo says:

      That’s for us mere mortals. I’m sure his assets are mostly protected (through LLCs, trusts, etc.) The bankruptcy is only to protect his personal assets. He will get away with discharging the judgments, which is really annoying. Add to that the fact that he leaked the sex tape to humiliate this woman and it irks that he believes he’s a “target.”

    • Natty says:

      50 won’t necessarily get a discharge of his unsecured debts (e.g., the lawsuit judgments). There are various sections of the bankruptcy code that prevent discharge, including where the claim against the debtor is grounded in fraud or intentional and willful damage. The judgment related to the leaked tape could result in punitive damages that would be based on intentional and willful behavior which would make it potentially non-dischargeable. I’m guessing that’s why he filed before the jury was able to consider punitive damages. But it’s really just a delay. EIther 50 will remove that case to the bankruptcy court for the punitive portion, or the plaintiff will move for permission for the case to proceed so she can finalize her claim against him. Chapter 11 for individuals really is about delay to reorganize payments. Instead of having to pay the full amount of his judgments up front, he’ll be able to pay them out over time, and he will protect his assets from his creditors.

  3. TheOtherViv says:

    Dear Lord, that massage lady looks delighted.

  4. Mop top says:

    “Getting my foot messaged and the dentist.” Another day, another functionally illiterate rapper.

    • qwerty says:

      “”I get paper! Stack paper! Blow paper!
      Make paper! Take paper! I’m major!””

      He’s a lyrical genius, you peasant.

    • Annabella says:

      Actually Mop top I’m pretty sure this was a case of auto correct while typing on his phone

  5. Nebby says:

    Ugh this guy is a bully, he put targets on many artist to get where he is today. His entire career has been built on beef with other ppl, how rich he is, and a little rap. I know this is America where we sue for any reasons, but the acts he was sued for are legitimate and worthy causes to seek damages for.

    • qwerty says:

      Eminem pretty much made him, as far as his kevel of fame goes. Do they even talk these days?

    • Chichi says:

      I dont think people know what exactly he did. All the articles I have read are framing it as a vague “sex tape release”. He has an ongoing feud with another rapper, Rick Ross. So in order to get at Rick Ross, he went and bought a sex tape in which Rick Ross ex was having sex with her current boyfriend of the time. She was unaware that she was being taped. 50 Cent then dabbed a narration onto the tape basically mocking her and released it. Her connection to Rick Ross at the time was that she was ex and she had a child by him. 50 Cent doesnt know this woman nor did he even have dispute with her, but he thought he should ruin her life because misogyny. He disgusts me.

      • OrigialTessa says:

        He should be in prison for that

      • Pondering thoughts says:

        Videotaping people without their consent while doing entirely private things of no relevance to the public is a crime in itself in some countries. (Germany, France…) Publishing such a video in order to humilitate and shame a person is another additional crime.
        How comes 50 gets away with this sh*t in the US?

      • I Choose Me says:

        That’s horrible. Yet another instance of a rich a-hole getting away with a crime. So depressing.

    • V4Real says:

      “He put targets on many artist to get where he is today.”

      Yep, just ask Ja Rue

      What happened to all that Vitamin Water money?

    • Chichi says:

      He massacred Ja Rules career although to be fair, he was also lucky that the beef coincided with the Murder Inc implosion. I love that Jay Z just ignores his pathetic attempts at starting a feud.

      The Vit Water money is probably sitting in some shell corp somewhere. Forbes estimated his worth at 150 million just this year and I know Forbes gets it wrong sometimes, but I think we all know 50 Cent is full of crap with this filing.

      • Bridget says:

        I heard some Ja Rule on the local throwback radio station the other day – how did that man get famous in the first place? All he does is shout words off rhythm.

  6. Anon33 says:

    Sorry Fiddy but when you CHOOSE to make mistakes and do things that are legally actionable that’s not you “becoming a target.” That’s you “being an irresponsible moron.”

  7. swack says:

    I can’t with this. Maybe if you didn’t do things that people can sue you for, you wouldn’t get sued. Hope the jury sticks it to him with a large punitive damage amount. Also, what happened to the other $100 he was worth earlier this year?

  8. INeedANap says:

    He was really funny in Spy, though granted, he only had like three lines. But now I know why he showed up in the movie playing the fool.

  9. Mira says:

    How is it not a criminal sexual offense to leak sex tapes of people without their consent? It’s probably far more traumatic for many victims than a rape would be, it would for me anyway, by far. Having something so intimate all over the internet for everyone to see would be so invasive and violating. The law needs to catch up with technology. He should be facing 20 years for that. I hope she gets every last cent out of him. What a nasty man.

    • tallo says:

      +10000000 what a horrible thing to do

    • Snazzy says:

      It really is a terrible thing to do. He is such a pig

    • Christine says:

      I’m sure our law twists it some way in that in filming the video, that IS your consent. The whole thing is sick. Like those men who post revenge porn videos of their ex. I don’t know how they get away with it.

    • Bridget says:

      It’s because the law hasn’t caught up with technology yet, and it doesn’t help that those enforcing it aren’t as familiar with social media and technology. Plus there’s still an attitude among the public that the best solution is that you shouldn’t take naked pictures of yourself in the first place. Though have hope: the dude who started a massive revenge porn site was very recently sentenced to a huge amount of jail time, so there’s hope.

  10. Lucy2 says:

    How exactly does one message a foot? Wait…I don’t want to know.

    I don’t know much about him other than that he is constantly flaunting his wealth and posting ridiculous pictures of it. If you’re going to do illegal things and then try to back out of it through bankruptcy, maybe don’t supply a photostream of proof that you have money.

  11. Izzy says:

    Doesn’t a bankruptcy judge have to approve the entire filing? He should have kept his mouth shut. If I was a lawyer representing ine of the plaintiffs, I’d be foling in the bankruptcy and using his public statements to E! to prove that not only can he afford to pay the judgments, he is also using the entire process just to get out of paying judgments already levied against him in court by a finder of fact.

  12. Naddie says:

    What goes around comes around, if I’m not mistaken, he even rapped this in a song. Good ridance, a**hole. Who’s next?

  13. Moxie Remon says:

    Sometimes God intervenes on stupid people.

  14. Tiffany says:

    Thank you for covering this story and this clown out for what he is. Other comments I have read have the audacity to vilify this woman for having and enjoying sex. If she did not know she was being recorded (I believe it) that means the bf at the time took a check from someone (50) to get possession of the tape. Shame is an emotion that sociopaths don’t feel so of course they did not wrong.

  15. Suzy from Ontario says:

    Pathetic and disgusting. Proof that the world is unfair and being a douche doesn’t stop you from being rich. People like him make me sick to my stomach.

  16. serena says:

    Uggghhhh he is repellant. He released the sex tape of a woman because he had a schoolyard feud with her boyfriend? How disgusting and low can you get? He deserves something truly horrible coming his way.

    btw, do not post pics of your wretchedly ugly feet if they are indeed that wretchedly ugly. And what type of a loser boasts about being wealthy? The likes of Trump that is, who had filed for bankruptcy himself btw. Coincidence?

    You can take the man – if you can call a bully like him a ‘man’, that is – out of the gutter, but you can’t take the gutter out of him. Textbook example.

  17. Sara says:

    50 cent ,please see Dave Ramsey, baby steps 1-3. Once you understandthe bigger picture of how society works, you know longer want to give your money away for certain things. I value money in the bank over material liabilities.

  18. karen says:

    Such trash.

  19. Ellecommelejour says:

    It’s so sad because I met him more than once when I was working in hospitality industry and he was one of the nicest star we ever met!
    I feel like this bad image he is giving himself is just for the show business.
    But that video story is a big no-no!

    • Neah23 says:

      I’m guess the horrible things he said about his oldest son is also just for “show business” ? No he’s just an a$$ whole plan and simple.

  20. JRenee says:

    He doesn’t want to pay the judgements. He’s trying to hide behind loopholes. I don’t believe for 1 minute that he doesn’t have the $. He’s trying to weasel out of paying. This was blatantly malicious and disgusting.

  21. jferber says:

    I still believe he set fire to his ex-girlfriend’s house while she and their son were in the house. Fiddy had been complaining about her having that house and how she had a boyfriend living there. Then it mysteriously burns down. He also beats women. The woman he had his 2 year old son with (the favored son) has been beaten by him. And what’s up with his disowning his 17 year old son? What’s that all about? How do you do that? Such an a-hole for so many reasons.