50 Cent Sues Online Hip-Hop Magazine Over Instagram Photo

The rapper filed a lawsuit against HipHopDX this week after they allegedly published his picture without consent. 50 also accused the outlet of spreading "fake news," after they posted a story questioning his recent business claims.

50 Cent is suing an online hip-hop magazine that suggested he was lying about a lucrative business deal.

According to legal documents obtained by The Blast, 50 filed a lawsuit against HipHopDX.com for publishing his photo without proper authorization. The picture in question was reportedly taken by a man named Christopher Conrad and was posted to the rapper’s Instagram account earlier this week. The photo shows the G-Unit boss standing alongside Bellator MMA executives with a caption that read: “[…] get the strap all l do is win.”

Fif claims Conrad gave him the rights to the image, and that he did not give HipHopDX permission to publish it online. The website used the photo in a June 27th story that was headlined: 50 Cent Didn't Sell “Get The Strap” To Bellator MMA For $1M.

Earlier this week, the rapper announced the MMA organization purchased his “Get the Strap” catchphrase for $1 million. 50 said the company intended to use the slogan on upcoming merch; however, HipHopDX cited a source who said 50’s claims were not accurate:

A Bellator spokesman told HipHopDX that 50’s post “isn’t true.” However, he did confirm the G-Unit boss met with the mixed martial arts promotion’s executives, as well as representatives from Bellator’s parent company Viacom.

50 addressed the article shortly after, accusing the website of sharing “fake news.” He then threatened to sue the reporter and the outlet for displaying the copyrighted photo without his consent. 

“This shit is fake news Justin lvey, you better go fact check,” he wrote on Instagram. “Matter of fact I’m gonna sue you and this website for using my picture in the morning. get the strap.”

According to The Blast, 50 is seeking at least $150,000 in damages.

 

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