50 Cent has responded to a lawsuit alleging that Performance Franchise ripped off the life story of a former drug lord and was dismissed.
The rapper and television star, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, shared the news on Instagram after New York District Judge Analisa Torress dismissed Cory “Ghost” Holland’s lawsuit against the Grammy-winning star.
“The fool thought he was a GHOST,” Jackson said, referring to the main character in Performance played by James St. Patrick, a ruthless drug dealer who wants to leave the world of crime behind and pursue a legal business in his hit Starz show.
“Everything is fucking wrong with these (ninja emojis) man LOL,” he added.
AllHipHop reports that Judge Torres concluded that Jackson’s character did not directly refer to Holland, which is required in a defamation suit.
Holland first filed the lawsuit in 2021 against Jackson, show creator Courtney Kemp, the Starz network and Lionsgate, accusing Kemp of stealing his 2007 autobiographical CD. Blasphemy.
Holland claimed he met Kemp’s father in the early 1990s to talk to him about his life story while he was trying to get out of the drug trade. At some point, he claimed, Jackson must have received the CD and used his story to Perfomance, and claimed that more than 200 scenes of the show are based on his life.
“This is not one of those lawsuits brought by a crazed fan or someone trying to capitalize on someone else’s success,” he said. “This is about the actual theft of my life and the damage it caused, as well as the profits the defendants made by stealing and sharing my life story without my consent.”
Jackson’s lawyer, Joanna Hill, responded that Holland “failed to make out a claim on the basis of which compensation could be awarded.”
“More specifically, (Holland) cannot identify any defamatory statements about him in connection with the fictional television series, Perfomance.”
The judge also dismissed a $300 million (£235 million) lawsuit against Lionsgate, along with Holland’s claim that Jackson showed up in his neighborhood with a fleet of vans playing a threatening song, Deadline reports.
Jackson’s lawyers also reported a threatening email that Holland allegedly sent to Jackson and his legal team.
Performance ran for six seasons between 2014 and 2020, followed by three spin-offs since then, Power Book II: Spirit. Power Book III, Raising Kanan, And Power Book IV: Power.
