50 Cent has once again found himself under scrutiny, this time for comments made by his lawyer, which suggest that hip-hop fans are predominantly poor and look up to rich people.
With a verdict which will decided whether the Queens rapper will have to pay upwards of $28 million he owes creditors looming closer, presiding judge Ann Nevins, has demanded an explanation for the rapper flaunting bundles of money on Instagram, seemingly mocking the very idea that he could possibly be really filing for bankruptcy.
50 Cents lawyers had previously stated the money he has been posing with is fake. Now, TMZ has managed to dig up some audio from the courthouse, in which 50’s lawyers lay down some awkward “truths” about hip-hop fans.
“I’m not going to ask you whether you listen to his music or have seen his videos or anything like that, but if you look at Mr. Jackson or other Hip Hop artists, they’re aspirational, they come from poverty. Many of their fans are poor. They want their favorite rapper to be rich. Money is important to them. You look at his pre-bankruptcy persona, look at some of the videos, money is important. Filing the bankruptcy by definition presented a real challenge as to how it’s going to be handled.”
Though it’s a bit of a stretch to say that the lawyer is suggesting that hip-hop fans are all poor. It does seem disappointing that something like this can be brought up in the courtroom and listened to when trying to save the reputation of 50 Cent, but not when discussing the realities of hunger and poverty in America.
When pressed on the issue of whether or not 50 understood that flashing around bundles of cash and seemingly mocking the court proceedings could be seen as inflammatory to the creditors who he owes money to and just generally contemptuous towards the court, one of 50 Cent’s representatives explained that it’s all about the brand. “If Mr. Jackson conducted himself say with more discretion, more tact, he wouldn’t be getting people endorsing him for high-premium items.” Explained the minion. “He wouldn’t be getting movie parts. He wouldn’t be having great roles on TV.”
This whole 50 Cent/Instagram saga has really gone a touch far, with the rapper previously stating thatthe Secret Service approached him to talk about counterfeit money after he revealed the cash used in his Instagram snaps was fake. Hate him or love him, it would be best for 50 if the judge ruled one way or the other, hopefully without dismantling his carefully crafted persona any further.
Image Credit: celebitchy