Just because you're famous, it doesn't mean your intellectual property automatically becomes public domain. 50 Cent is reserving his right to sue HipHopDX for publishing a photo of him without his consent. The photo in question shows 50 Cent posing with Bellator MMA executives. The staged photograph obviously hit 50 close to home, because he certainly felt he should be breaking the news first, whatever it is they were negotiating in the boardroom.
The court documents also accuse HipHopDX of publishing fake news, in an article that falsely claims the rapper/mogul sold his "Get the Strap" catchphrase to the MMA promotion for a cool $1 million. The pictures HipHopDX had no right to publish has since been legally claimed by TMZ and is available for viewing on their website.
The same day the dubious article surfaced, 50 Cent jumped on social media posting, "This s**t is fake news Justin Ivey (the writer), you better go fact check. Matter of fact I'm gonna sue you and this website for using my picture." It appears Curtis more than backed up his claim. The scourge that is "fake news" continues to be a thorn in the side of good journalists, who so often get lumped together with speculative pieces such as the one 50 Cent is fighting tooth and nail to expose.
Get the Strap!
