50 Cent doubles down after mocking Terry Crews over sexual assault claim
TERRY Crews says he’s a survivor of sexual assault, and 50 Cent has decided to voice some controversial opinions about that.
Crews, a former NFL player turned actor, has been outspoken about the # MeToo movement, publicly sharing his own story about Hollywood turning a blind eye to assault. On Tuesday, he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee alongside activist Amanda Nguyen.
With Crews back in the news, 50 Cent ( born Curtis James Jackson III) posted a meme on Tuesday on Instagram mocking him. The post showed an image of a shirtless Crews superimposed with the words, “I got raped. My wife just watched,” next to another photo of Crews holding a rose in his mouth that said “Gym time.”
“LOL,” the rapper captioned the image, along with asking what “is going on out here man. Terry: I froze in fear ... they would have had to take me to jail.”
The post has since been removed, but screen shots made the rounds on social media. On Wednesday afternoon, the rapper doubled- down with another message that basically told people to stop being so sensitive, and that he wasn’t going to talk to the press. ( He also added his signature sign- off, “get the strap.”)
The initial post attracted swift condemnation, including from Crews’ “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” co-star, Chelsea Peretti.
“Rape, harassment & assault are often approached as ‘womans issues’ where boys and men are sidelined as silent victims,” she posted on Twitter. “That ( Terry Crews) is speaking out about this culture is a good thing and supporters need to be louder than those who chose to ridicule him for speaking his truth.”
TMZ managed to get Crews to respond on camera to the rapper’s post. “I love 50 Cent, I listen to his music while I’m working out,” Crews said. When pressed further, he responded that “I prove that size doesn’t matter when it comes to sexual assault.”
Crews has said that he was with his wife at a party in 2016 when he was groped by a Hollywood agent. The actor filed a criminal complaint against Adam Venit, but Los Angeles prosecutors said it fell outside the statute of limitations. ( Venit has denied the allegations made by Crews, according to legal documents obtained by People.)
Crews currently has a civil suit against Venit, and according to the actor, he was booted from the upcoming “Expendables 4” after refusing to drop the matter.
Anyone who’s recently paid attention to 50 Cent shouldn’t be all that surprised by his comments. The rapper, who rose to fame with the 2003 album “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” has also become known for bitcoin braggadocio and bankruptcy, Vitaminwater investments and saying awful things that he has to apologise for later.
In 2016,50 Cent filmed himself verbally harassing a janitor in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The video of the rapper lobbing obscenities at the airport worker, following him and accusing him of being on drugs, went viral.
Parents of the custodian, a recent high school graduate named Andrew Farrell, spoke out publicly, telling local news outlets that Farrell had autism and social anxiety disorder.
“Why would you attack my kid like that?” his mother, Amanda Kramer, told Cincinnati. com. “It doesn’t say much about his character when he has to attack a kid he doesn’t even know.” Backlash ensued, and the family demanded an apology; 50 Cent removed the video and made a donation to Autism Speaks. “While the incident at the airport resulted from an unfortunate misunderstanding, please accept m y sincere apologies for offending you,” the rapper said in a statement. “It was certainly not my intent to insult you and I wish you and your family well.”
But just four years prior, 50 Cent made comments involving autism that also led to him apologising. His 2012 Twitter argument with a fan ended with the rapper writing, “just saw your picture fool you look autistic.” He continued: “I don’t want no special ed kids on my time line, follow somebody else.”
Activists quickly took note and asked the rapper to remove the tweets. He eventually apologised: “I realise my autism comments were insensitive, however it was not my intention to offend anyone and for this I apologise.”
In 2015,50 Cent filed for bankruptcy shortly after getting sued for US$ 7 million in damages for posting online a sex tape of a rival’s ex- girlfriend. He eventually was ordered to pay US$ 5 million.
Then in bankruptcy court, he had to explain photos of him with piles of cash, including one showing stacks of money arranged to spell out the word “broke.”—