50 Cent has filed a motion in support of a request from G-Unit Books to seal portions of his ex Shaniqua Tompkins’ court filings, claiming she has been using their legal dispute over her life rights to try and ruin his reputation.
According to an affirmation, viewed by Complex, 50 Cent has accused Tompkins of inserting “inflammatory and defamatory allegations” about him, based on “purported events from decades ago.” The rapper and mogul argued that these allegations are unrelated to their current legal matter, and were already brought up in a previous lawsuit that was dismissed with prejudice.
In the motion, 50 expressed his belief that Tompkins has treated her pleadings as a way of making public statements about him, due to what he considers to be a “personal animus.”
“If Tompkins’ inflammatory and defamatory allegations in her pleadings are permitted to enter the public record without restriction, the resulting harm to my personal and professional reputation will be immediate, severe, and irreversible,” the filing reads.
G-Unit Books filed suit against Tompkins last year, claiming that she signed a life rights agreement in 2007, following her split from 50 Cent.
The company is seeking “no less than” $1 million from Thompkins, claiming she breached their contract by “exploiting those rights in a series of videos” that was shared online.
“Tompkins does not dispute G‑Unit Books’ central allegation that her conduct breached the parties’ Life Rights Agreement,” attorneys for G-Unit Books wrote in a motion filed last month. “Instead, she contends the contract is unenforceable, relying on decades‑old misconduct allegations supported only by her own self‑serving statements. Those assertions cannot be reconciled with her prior sworn filings; in an earlier litigation—while seeking half of G‑Unit Books’ principal’s estate and future income—Tompkins treated the Life Rights Agreement as an enforceable contract. Her current attempt to recast that agreement as unenforceable should be rejected.”
Tompkins claimed in an affidavit, filed in January, that she declined repeated attempts from 50 Cent’s then-manager Chris Lighty to get her to sign the agreement before he showed up at her Las Vegas hotel room with a man whom she believed to be a security guard. Tompkins alleges she was warned of “severe consequences" if she did not comply.
"Fearing for my life and for my children's lives, I signed the agreement under extreme duress," the affidavit reads.
A judge denied G-Unit Books’ request for an automatic default judgment earlier this month after Tompkins missed deadlines pertaining to the lawsuit. She was given more time to respond to the suit.
