50 Cent may no longer have two quarters to rub together.Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reports. Jackson reported assets and debts each ranging from $10 million to $50 million.The
filing comes just three days after a jury ordered the rapper-actor to
pay $5 million to Lastonia Leviston in an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit
after she claimed he acquired and intentionally leaked a sex tape in
which she was featured. Leviston
has a daughter with Rick Ross, who is Jackson's rap rival. Jackson
reportedly released the sex tape in 2009 to embarrass Ross.
Jackson added himself to the video as a crude commentator and posted the humiliating end result online without her permission.
The
Manhattan jurors are deliberating on possible further punitive damages
in the lawsuit against the multi-platinum-selling artist.
Attorney
William A. Brewer III says Jackson and his legal team are 'disappointed
in the verdict but very appreciative of the service of the jury and the
court.'
Leviston's lawyer, Philip Freidin, declined to comment on the award, first reported by the
The
lawsuit stems from a 13-minute video that appeared online in 2009
featuring a wig-wearing Jackson as a narrator dubbed 'Pimpin' Curly.'
The character made explicit remarks about Leviston and taunted Ross, who wasn't in the video but has a daughter with Leviston.
At the time the video surfaced, Ross and Jackson were trading barbs via video, lyrics, and interviews.
Jackson
got the 2008 tape from the man in it -- Leviston's boyfriend at the
time. The rapper and his lawyers said that Jackson didn't actually post
the video but that Leviston's then-boyfriend said she wouldn't mind if
he did, and he thought that would suffice.
The
'Pimpin' Curly' character was just 'joking' by referring to Leviston as
a 'porn star,' Jackson said during sworn pre-trial questioning that was
played for the jury, according to news reports.
He didn't
testify at the trial. But Leviston, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, said she
was horrified and humiliated when the video appeared online.
'This
was something done to me. I didn't have a choice. I would never, ever
do this to myself,' she testified, according to news reports.
Jackson
burst to the fore of gangsta rap with 2003's 'Get Rich or Die Tryin',
its lead single, 'In Da Club,' and a tough life story that included
being shot nine times.
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