50 Cent’s ex-girlfriend is firing back at his lawsuit claiming he owns her life rights, claiming she only signed that deal because she was “fearing for my life.”
The rapper sued Shaniqua Tompkins last year, claiming her series of “tell-all” Instagram videos violated an agreement she had signed in 2007. But in her first substantive response to the case, obtained by Billboard, she says she was coerced into signing that deal with threats and intimidation.
“The agreement was presented as a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum, and I was given no opportunity to seek independent counsel or negotiate any terms,” Tompkins writes in an affidavit filed in Manhattan court on Thursday (Jan. 22). “Fearing for my life and for my children’s lives, I signed the agreement under extreme duress.”
Related
Pharrell Sued By Chad Hugo, Drake Appeals UMG Case, Spotify Files Lawsuit & More Music Law News
INXS, AC/DC, GANGgajang Lead Triple M's Most Played Songs in Network History
Maya J'an Signs With Warner Records: Debut Single is a Powerful 'Love Letter' to Hometown After L.A. Fires
Tompkins says she initially refused to sign the deal, but that 50’s manager and a bodyguard showed up at her hotel room and warned that she would suffer “severe consequences.” She says they didn’t allow her read the entire thing, and made it clear that the star would use his power to “ruin me financially and personally” if she didn’t sign it on the spot.
“I did not sign the life rights agreement because I agree with its terms or believed it was fair. I signed because I felt I had no meaningful choice,” Tompkins writes in the filing. “The agreement was imposed at a moment of a great imbalance of power, when Curtis Jackson … used threats, intimidation, and my fear of retaliation to extract rights that I would never have surrendered freely.”
An attorney for 50 Cent did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.
The star rapper sued last year after Tompkins, the mother of his child Marquise Jackson, went viral with a series of Instagram posts commenting on the criminal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs. The videos touched on the rapper’s infamous 2000 shooting, as well as his long-running feud with Combs.
Related
Pharrell Williams Sued by Neptunes Partner Chad Hugo Amid Split: ‘Fraudulent Conduct’
In taking Tompkins to court, 50 Cent attorneys said his company had paid Tompkins $80,000 in 2007 in return for “all rights to exploit her life story” — a deal they explicitly say was meant to protect the rapper’s reputation.
“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,” the rapper’s lawyers wrote at the time. “His concerns were ultimately proven correct.”
Tompkins’ response to the lawsuit last week is many months delayed. In her filings, she claims she was never properly served with the case, and is seeking an extension of time to formally respond before the judge rules in 50 Cent’s favor by default.
To bolster her argument for such a delay, her lawyers say she would likely win the lawsuit if given the chance to actually litigate it. And to make that point, they cited her sworn statements about the way she signed the deal in the first place.
Related
Drake ‘What Did I Miss?’ Video Lawsuit Dropped by Photographer Who Accused Rapper of Copying Pic
In addition to the alleged coercion tactics by 50’s reps, she says the deal was signed at a time when she was “entirely financially dependent” on the star. She says he had forced her to give up her job, and she was reliant on a monthly allowance without a set figure.
Tompkins also claims that 50 Cent never actually paid her the full $80,000. She says she received only 35,000, and that she was left in a “vulnerable position” when the payments stopped: “Plaintiff cannot demand that I be bound by an agreement while ignoring its own obligations. By filing to pay me as promised, plaintiff broke the agreement first.”
Hence then, the article about 50 cent s ex responds to lawsuit claiming he owns her life rights signed under extreme duress was published today ( ) and is available on billboard ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( 50 Cent’s Ex Responds To Lawsuit Claiming He Owns Her Life Rights: ‘Signed Under Extreme Duress’ )
Also on site :