NEW YORK (AP) – Rapper 50 Cent, ranked by Forbes as one of hip-hop’s five richest artists, downplayed his wealth on Tuesday as he testified in court about his finances, business deals and the media attention surrounding his recent bankruptcy filing.
The multiplatinum-selling artist, born Curtis Jackson III, appeared in Manhattan state Supreme Court in a proceeding to decide possible additional punitive damages in an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit. A jury has already ordered him to pay $5 million in damages in a lawsuit brought by a woman who said he didn’t have her permission when he released a sex tape she made with a boyfriend.
Questioned by an attorney for the woman, Lastonia Leviston, the musician-actor denied owning many luxury items – including expensive cars and flashy jewelry – saying he rents, borrows and leases instead.
“It’s a borrowed piece of jewelry from the jeweler,” he told Leviston’s lawyer, Philip Freidin, when asked about a photo of a 65-karat ring he posted on his Instagram account.
Leviston sued the “Get Rich or Die Tryin'” rapper after a 13-minute video appeared online showing a wig-wearing 50 Cent crudely narrating and taunting his rival Rick Ross, who was not in the video but has a daughter with Leviston. At the time the video surfaced, Ross and 50 Cent were trading barbs via video, lyrics and interviews.