50 Cent’s lifestyle of ‘bling and fancy cars’ is all Fake
Rapper 50 Cent testified Tuesday that his high-flying hip-hop lifestyle is all a mirage.
Taking the witness stand in Manhattan Supreme Court, the rapper said his claims about having a fleet of luxury cars on both coasts, loads of bling, and even making a $1.6 million bet on boxer Floyd Mayweather are all bogus, New York daily reports.
“It’s entertainment,” he said of the lifestyle he portrays in his videos and on social media.
Asked about his boast about buying a Rolls-Royce “on a whim” on July 4 Fitty, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, said he did get the fancy wheels, but only by trading in two other cars, including his Lamborghini.
Other fancy rides, like his Bentley and his Ferrari, were never owned. “Those cars were rented,” he said. Fancy jewelry, like a thick gold chain emblazoned with diamonds, were just loaners, he testified.
“I borrowed them,” he said, adding he only owns “a few gold chains” and “three or four watches,” including the Casio he was sporting in court. Pressed about a picture he posted on Instagram of a 65-carat pinkie ring, he said, “65 carats? I don’t think that’s even possible.”
Asked about how much money he’s made from selling 38 million records worldwide, 50 Cent said, “I get 10 cents a record.” Asked about the two movies he’s currently in, “Spy” and “Southpaw,” the rapper said he made $100,000 for each.
And while Fitty had claimed publicly he’d placed a $1.6 million bet on Mayweather’s successful fight against Manny Pacquiao earlier this year, when asked how much he pocketed, he admitted, “I didn’t make the bet.”
The Queens-born rapper — who filed for personal bankruptcy in Connecticut last week — had been subpoenaed to testify about his fortune to help a jury decide how much he should have to pay in punitive damages to a woman whose sex tape he posted online.
The woman’s lawyer, Philip Freidin, noted that the rapper has successful music and acting careers, numerous endorsement deals, a popular website, his own record company, Connecticut mansion and numerous luxury cars, including the trade-in Rolls. He got the actor to admit to having signed an $80 million deal with Reebok, a $78 million deal with an underwear company, and acknowledge he pocketed $23 million from Interscope Records. Freidin also asked him about the reported $100 million he made when Coca-Cola bought VitaminWater.
“I signed a nondisclosure agreement. I can’t mention the dollar amounts,” he said.
But the “Candy Shop” rapper did acknowledge that he lives in a mansion on a 17-acre estate in Connecticut with 21 bedrooms, 24 bathrooms, a basketball court, a movie theater and a personal nightclub. And asked if a press report that he went out partying at a Florida strip club where he was throwing around wads of bills after his bankruptcy filing was accurate, he said, “Yes.”
While Forbes has put his net worth at $150 million, 50 Cent filed a statement with the court saying he’s worth $4.4 million. His lawyer, James Renard, said it’s now down to about $3.7 million — and that’s not even including the $5 million the Manhattan jury has already awarded to the unwitting sex tape star, Lastonia Leviston.
Leviston said the tape was a personal item she made for and with her boyfriend, Maurice Murray. Murray handed it over to Fitty, who said he posted it to embarrass rival rapper Rick Ross, who has a daughter with Leviston.
Posted by Janice Johnson
