G-Unit Books is seeking at least $1 million in damages, claiming Shaniqua Tompkins violated a life rights agreement.
50 Cent‘s publishing company is suing the rapper’s ex-girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins over Instagram videos that it says violate a life rights agreement she signed over nearly 20 years ago.
The lawsuit alleges Tompkins’ videos violated a life rights agreement made in 2007 for $80,000 that gave G-Unit Books the exclusive rights to publicize her life story and a percentage of royalties from related projects. The complaint states that Tompkins, dated the rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, between the 1990s and mid-2000s. They also share a son, Marquise.
“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,” reads the complaint, per Billboard. “His concerns were ultimately proven correct.”
The lawsuit claims she was “contractually prohibited” from using said information for financial gain, alleging that the videos had “diminish[ed] the value of the exclusive rights it acquired and undermin[ed] its ability to develop and market future works based on those rights.”
The lawsuit seeks $1 million in damages and an injunction to force her to quit posting the videos and remove content related to Jackson that has already been posted.
Tompkins and a rep for Jackson did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment. However, the artist addressed the lawsuit by posting a screengrab from TMZ and attacked his ex’s appearance: “I didn’t realize how much she looks like me, girl you handsome with them baby hairs,” he wrote.
This marks 50’s second lawsuit in the past few months. In April, he sued the producers of an upcoming horror film Skillhouse, claiming he was never paid for his role. The lawsuit alleges that Jackson agreed to film his scenes in Skillhouse before finalizing and signing off on his contract, as he assumed he and producers would eventually work out a deal. However, a deal was allegedly never reached, and the rapper said he hasn’t been compensated.
