Rapper Sues Taco Bell

  • July 25, 2008
U.S. rapper and hip-hop mogul 50 Cent sued Taco Bell on Wednesday, saying the restaurant chain made him the star of its hip-hop themed ad campaign without his permission and without paying him a fee, according to Reuters. The lawsuit accuses the chain of disseminating a letter, addressed to 50 Cent, that encourages the rapper to change his name to "79 Cent," "89 Cent" or "99 Cent." Per the news agency, the letter was designed to promote the company's "79-89-99 Cent Why Pay More" campaign, while avoiding the multimillion-dollar fee the rapper might have charged to use his name, the lawsuit said. Rob Poetsch, a spokesman for Taco Bell Corp. was quoted as saying, "We made a good faith, charitable offer to 50 Cent to change his name to either 79, 89, or 99 Cent for one day by rapping his order at a Taco Bell, and we would have been very pleased to make the $10,000 donation to the charity of his choice."--Nina M. Lentini

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