A Manhattan judge will hear arguments next month in a $1 million lawsuit involving 50 Cent’s G-Unit Books and his longtime former girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins.
50 Isn’t Letting Go
Oral arguments in the case have been moved up from Jan. 12, 2027, to Sept. 22 at 11 a.m. Justice Robert Reed will hear arguments on G-Unit Books’ effort to dismiss Tompkins’ defenses and counterclaims.
The hearing will not determine the entire lawsuit.
The dispute centers on life rights connected to Tompkins’ story. Life rights agreements give a person or company permission to develop another person’s life story, including personal experiences, name, image and likeness, for entertainment or other media projects, according to Romano Law Offices, which specializes in entertainment and employment law and has offices nationwide.
Such agreements can be particularly important when a person’s story is being commercially developed because rights-of-publicity laws can restrict the unauthorized commercial use of someone’s identity.
Tompkins is challenging G-Unit Books’ claims and has filed defenses and counterclaims in the case.
The lawsuit comes after 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, spent decades building businesses around his personal story and music career. His 2003 debut album, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” became the basis for a 2005 film of the same name, and he later expanded into television and film production.
The rapper has also used his G-Unit brand to develop publishing and entertainment projects.
The upcoming hearing will focus on whether Tompkins’ defenses and counterclaims should remain part of the case as litigation continues.
The judge’s ruling could determine how the $1 million lawsuit proceeds, but it will not resolve the underlying dispute at the Sept. 22 hearing.
But the hearing, according to AllHipHop.com, could shape whether the publisher can ultimately enforce a nearly 20-year-old contract it says gave it exclusive control over her story.
G-Unit Books sued Tompkins in July 2025 after she began publicly discussing Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, their son Marquise and their relationship through videos and her Instagram Live series, “The Unspoken.”
The company says Tompkins signed a 2007 life-rights agreement granting G-Unit exclusive rights to her story, name and likeness for an $80,000 advance and promised royalties.
Tompkins disputes both the circumstances and economics of that deal.
She claims she received only $35,000 and alleges she signed while financially dependent on Jackson and under pressure from members of his business circle.
In a sworn affidavit, Tompkins alleged, according to Rolling Stone, Jackson’s late manager, Chris Lighty, arrived at her Las Vegas hotel room with a man she believed was a bodyguard and told her the agreement was “nonnegotiable.”
“During this encounter, Mr. Lighty told me that I would suffer severe consequences if I did not sign the agreement,” she alleged. “Fearing for my life and for my children’s lives, I signed the agreement under extreme duress.”
Tompkins also claims Jackson forced her out of a real estate investment business, increasing her financial dependence on him.
Her allegations stretch back to a separate 2005 agreement involving “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.”
“When he looked at it and saw that I signed ‘Jane Doe,’ he grabbed me by the hair, dragged to the other end of the office, pushed me to the floor and started choking me,” Tompkins alleged.
Jackson’s legal team denies the accusation and argues the alleged incident has no bearing on the contract G-Unit is trying to enforce.
“Although Tompkins’ pleading contains (false) allegations that Jackson threatened force to coerce her into signing a prior agreement, it is not the agreement that is at issue in this action,” attorney Lisa Coyle wrote.
Tompkins also has accused Jackson of physically abusing her during their relationship and alluded to his possible involvement in the 2008 fire that destroyed the Long Island home where she lived. Jackson has denied abuse allegations and previously denied involvement in the fire.
The fight over a contract reportedly worth $80,000 comes as Jackson sits atop a vastly larger business portfolio.
After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2015, 50 Cent staged a substantial financial comeback through television production, touring, liquor, music and real estate. Celebrity Net Worth estimates his current fortune at $100 million.
That makes the lawsuit less significant as a percentage of Jackson’s wealth than for what G-Unit says it purchased: control of a potentially valuable piece of his personal history.
Jackson’s attorney Reena Jain previously said he bought Tompkins’ life rights for possible future biographical projects and because he worried she would eventually “monetize their history and his name.”
G-Unit says that concern proved justified and is seeking $1 million in damages, plus interest and legal fees.
Tompkins, meanwhile, is attacking the transaction itself, arguing G-Unit failed to fully compensate her and that the rights were obtained under duress.
A March ruling kept her defense alive.
Now, nearly two decades after the agreement was signed, the court will begin weighing whether one of 50 Cent’s more unusual business acquisitions is a contract his company can actually enforce.
