50 Cent has taken legal action against his ex.
According to an exclusive report from TMZ, the rapper’s publishing company, G-Unit Books, filed a lawsuit against Shaniqua Tompkins, the mother of his 28-year-old son Marquise Jackson. He claimed Tompkins told stories about him online and that she signed over the rights to her life story in the past.
Officially, Tompkins is being sued for breach of contract. Additionally, the 50-year-old has asked the court to prevent her from posting more social media videos. Per TMZ, they’re also asking for at least $1 million at trial.
The lawsuit alleged Tompkins “irrevocably and exclusively” sold the rights to her life story in 2007 under the agreement that “she would not publicly disclose, exploit, or otherwise commercialize any aspect of her life story or related rights.” G-Unit Publishing claimed that in 2023, these terms were violated when she released Other Side of the Coin on YouTube.
As described on the video platform, she promised “the untold truth of how she helped to build the G-Unit legacy and how Curtis ‘50-Cent’ Jackson wouldn’t be who he is today without her.” According to TMZ, she also allegedly used the momentum from the video on social media to capitalize on speculation around the identity of the unnamed witnesses during Sean “Diddy” Combs’ criminal trial and continued to tell stories involving 50 Cent’s past.
According to AllHipHop, Tompkins was paid $80,000 in 2007 for her life rights with the promise of future royalties.
“Tompkins’ behavior was intentional—she explicitly referenced the very agreement she breached while she actively breached it, stating it was something that was ‘going to have to be worked out legally,” explained 50 Cent’s attorney Reena Jain.
“Jackson purchased these rights to preserve them for use in future biographical or autobiographical projects, but also in part because he was concerned that Tompkins would attempt to monetize their history and his name. His concerns were ultimately proven correct.”
Amid news of the lawsuit, Tomkins took to Instagram to announce plans to broadcast live later this week. She did not explicitly say if she would be addressing the claims in the lawsuit.
Earlier this year, Tomkins claimed 50 Cent “beat up” Daphne Joy, the mother of his second son, Sire Jackson. She also shared alleged details about a domestic violence case that was being built against the Grammy winner.