Over the weekend, a gloating 50 Cent took to Instagram to re-caption a still-popular meme that will have gone over followers’ heads. The submit, meant to dunk on his rap rival Jay-Z, is a picture of fifty from his cameo on HBO’s Entourage, and it’s captioned: “Okay I don’t know what’s happening, however are we gonna nonetheless have the Tremendous Bowl. 😟I’m simply asking for a buddy!”
In the event you don’t get the gag, don’t fear, you’re not out of contact. The punchline right here depends on you understanding that Jay-Z, who on Sunday was named in a civil swimsuit accusing him and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping a 13-year-old woman, runs the leisure firm Roc Nation, which has been producing the Tremendous Bowl Halftime Present for the previous 5 years. 50 Cent can also be producing an investigative docuseries on Diddy for Netflix. (A rep for 50 Cent didn’t return The Hollywood Reporter‘s message on Monday in search of additional touch upon his submit.)
50 Cent’s social media show of schadenfreude implies a priority — imaginary or anticipated — that the media consideration surrounding the allegations might spill over into Roc Nation’s profitable partnership with the Nationwide Soccer League. Jay-Z, who serves as government producer of the Tremendous Bowl halftime present, and his firm, reworked the large sport’s musical interlude from a rock and nation affair to characteristic a various array of present artists, beginning in 2020. Aligning with Apple in 2023, the manufacturing was elevated much more, leading to document viewers numbers for current performances that includes Usher (2024) and Rihanna (2023).
The worth tag for these stadium-sized performances is, in fact, within the many tens of millions of {dollars} — and that’s with the featured artist performing without spending a dime. The advert income for the 12-to-15-minute halftime present alone might attain eight figures, so, a tenet for a company just like the NFL and its broadcast associate is to avoid controversy, particularly post-Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” fiasco.
So how might Jay-Z, the enterprise, and Shawn Carter, the person, be impacted vis-a-vis Tremendous Bowl LIX, scheduled for Feb. 9 in New Orleans with Kendrick Lamar helming halftime? A response to the civil swimsuit posted to Roc Nation’s X (previously Twitter) account will be the very phrases that make affiliation questionable within the court docket of public opinion. Even when the assertion, written from the standpoint of a father and with unapologetic conviction within the voice of Hov, obtained reward for its development.
In it are claims that lawyer Tony Buzbee, who’s representing the feminine Jane Doe, was trying to blackmail the rap mogul by submitting the swimsuit for such a “heinous” crime. “What he had calculated was the character of those allegations and the general public scrutiny would make me wish to settle,” the page-long submit reads. “No sir, it had the alternative impact! It made me wish to expose you for the fraud you might be in a VERY public vogue. So no, I cannot provide you with ONE RED PENNY!! These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a legal grievance, not a civil one!! Whomever [sic] would commit such against the law in opposition to a minor ought to be locked away, would you not agree? These alleged victims would deserve actual justice if that have been the case.”
Why Carter posted the unsigned observe to the Roc Nation X account and never his personal X account is unclear; whereas Carter’s X account has been comparatively dormant since 2018, it’s nonetheless alive and has 2.9 million followers (THR reached out to the rapper’s rep and Roc Nation for remark however obtained no reply). But the truth that the rap mogul’s response was delivered via Roc Nation is why the Tremendous Bowl contract might come into play — in one other circumstance, wouldn’t Apple, the NFL and Fox attempt to distance themselves from a enterprise associate accused of an unforgivable sexual assault?
In response to the submitting, Carter, via his lawyer Alex Spiro (who represented Alec Baldwin within the Rust case, leading to it being dismissed with prejudice), has demanded the accuser reveal her id, as is customary for a civil case introduced in Federal court docket. A legal declare can’t be filed in New York because of the statute of limitations for her age and the date of the alleged incident.
Carter is already suing Buzbee, submitting a swimsuit after receiving a letter from him that was interpreted as an extortion try. An lawyer representing Carter additionally wrote a follow-up message denying the rape allegation formally: “For the avoidance of doubt, Mr. Carter is totally harmless. This can be a shakedown. He’s not talked about, referenced, or implicated in any means within the legal investigation of Mr. Combs. He’s neither a goal nor an individual of curiosity in that investigation,” it reads.
If profitable in his protection within the civil case, Carter might go on to say tortious interference, which is when a 3rd get together interferes with a enterprise contract or relationship, resulting in monetary hurt.
Buzbee has his personal interpretation of the highway to authorized bedlam, writing on Instagram that there was a “coordinated and aggressive effort” in opposition to him that has included “submitting frivolous instances in opposition to me and my regulation agency, defaming me with outrageous assertions to anybody who will hear, and having mysterious folks observe me and my household.” Buzbee added, “Folks will see via this effort to discredit me and my shoppers and the reality can be revealed. I additionally gained’t permit anybody to scare my shoppers into silence.” THR reached out to Buzbee through his regulation agency on Tuesday however didn’t instantly hear again.
As this all unfolds in court docket, the individuals are speaking. One X consumer posted, “Jay Z ought to be faraway from any seat with the @NFL,” whereas one other wrote, “Jay Z ought to lose his job with the @NFL which suggests all his choices ought to be reversed so no Kendrick Tremendous Bowl.”
Roc Nation and the NFL initially inked a five-year contract in 2019; the deal was renewed in October. Carter’s firm has been the NFL’s Dwell Music Leisure Strategist as part of the NFL’s Encourage Change Initiative. Upon the renewal, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated the working relationship with Roc Nation was “mutually optimistic.”
Whether or not the NFL will take motion to distance itself from Jay-Z throughout its largest and most profitable sport of the yr stays to be seen; THR reached out to a league consultant on Tuesday to inquire about any doable modifications to the upcoming Tremendous Bowl Halftime Present however didn’t instantly hear again.
In the meantime, 50 Cent continues to weigh in on the growing drama, showing in an interview posted to BigBoy TV on Monday that confirmed a bit sympathy for Carter and his household.
“They’ll fall again… the NFL, they gained’t essentially be related to that,” Jackson stated. “I simply hope issues are alright for him internally, on the crib. It isn’t what you probably did. It’s what they stated you probably did. The harm is already accomplished by the allegation itself.”
