50 Cent Speaks Out on Bankruptcy Filing: 'People Love Tragedy'
50 Cent is breaking his silence after filing for bankruptcy – and he wasn’t afraid to shed light on the situation currently facing him.
“I’m not panicking. People love tragedy more than they love good news, no matter how you look at it. The news comes on, and it’s 90 percent tragedy," the 40-year-old rapper and businessman told ET's Kevin Frazier on Monday at the Southpaw press junket.
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“I have faith in the court systems,” he continued. “I know at points you gotta just relax and go through the process.”
If anything, 50 Cent wants everyone to know that this isn't a red flag.
“I make decisions to do things based on the position that I’m placed in at points and if I’m consistently being made out to be a target because of my financial situation …,” he told ET. “If [people] actually believe that I wouldn’t be conscious of who I am and protecting myself …”
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Late Monday evening, 50 Cent joked about his current situation, posting a pic of him in front of a Smart car. "Times are hard out here LMAO," he wrote in the caption.
50 Cent, whose legal name is Curtis James Jackson III, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Hartford, Connecticut earlier Monday, reporting assets and debts between $10 million and $50 million.
The bankruptcy filing comes days after he was ordered to pay $5 million to a woman who sued him after he allegedly acquired a sex tape of her and her boyfriend, sharing it without her consent, the Associated Press reported.
“The filing allows Mr. Jackson to reorganize his financial affairs, as he addresses various professional liabilities and takes steps to position the future of his various business interests,” 50 Cent’s attorney said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
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The news of 50 Cent’s bankruptcy filing may have come as a shock to fans. In May, Forbes estimated 50 Cent’s net worth at $155 million, thanks in large part to a minority stake in VitaminWater, putting him in the top 5 wealthiest hip-hop artists. As a shareholder of VitaminWater, 50 Cent made an estimated $100 million after taxes when the brand was sold to Coco-Cola in 2007.
50 Cent is also starring in the upcoming Jake Gyllenhaal boxing drama Southpaw and Starz’s Power, which he executive produces.