50 Cent Testifies in Sex Tape Trial, Worries About His Brand’s Success Since Bankruptcy Filing
What goes around comes around and in the world of 50 Cent, karma has presented its dreaded face sooner than he expected. After publicly taunting Rick Ross' baby's mother, Lastonia Leviston, with a sex tape she was featured in, 50 is paying the price for his ill-advised attack after a judge ordered him to pay her $5 million. Now, he's hoping to reverse his misfortune with a mistrial for the lawsuit placed against him.
NY Post's Page Six reports that 50 sent his lawyers over to the Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday (July 20) to demand a mistrial. His reasoning you ask? He blames it all on the media attention surrounding the case. "My concern is there might have been exposure to media that might have influence the jurors," 50's lawyer, James Renard, told the judge.
While Renard pleaded with the judge to allow his client a second chance at redemption, his attempt at a mistrial was denied. Justice Paul Wooten said that the press coverage surrounding 50 "is traceable primarily to the defendant, who has been on all sorts of media outlets."
Leviston was awarded $5 million in damages from her case against the rapper earlier this month. The Power star filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to freeze the proceedings. Despite his last minute attempt to stall the process, a Connecticut bankruptcy judge lifted the freeze.
Fif's crude commentary on Leviston's sex tape landed her in a pool of scrutiny due to the video garnering over 4 million downloads. "You a motherf---in' porn star now," he said at conclusion of the tape.
On Tuesday morning (July 21), 50 faced Leviston in court and offered an apology while testifying in the sex tape trial. "I'm sorry if you feel like I hurt you," he said. The Get Rich or Die Tryin' creator appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court to testify about his estimated $150 million fortune, reports the New York Daily News. Renard claims Fif's net worth is only $4.4 million, which would mean he's already in debt since Leviston was awarded $5 million.
During the trial, he was questioned under oath about his earnings. When asked about his 38 million in record sales, he revealed that he only makes "10 cents a record" and only received $100,000 each for appearing in new films Spy and Southpaw.
His bankruptcy filing was also addressed -- a move that has caused his brand to take a hit. "Now that I filed for bankruptcy, I'm not as cool as I was last week," 50 Cent explained.
Currently, the 40-year-old rapper is $28 million in debt.
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