Was 50 Cent Defamed by Ex-Girfriend Who Said He Burned Down Her House?

Posted by Eriq Gardner

Hip hop artist 50 Cent, also known as Curtis Jackson, is suing his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his child for telling the press that he threatened to burn down her home. The defendant Shaniqua Tomkins' home in Dix Hills, New York, burned down on May 30th. "Who do I think did it?" she later said. "Curtis Jackson. He threatened me on Monday that he was going to have someone visit me."

According to a complaint that alleges defamation, "Defendant had to know her story was false because Plaintiff was in Louisiana filming a movie at the time of the incident."

Of course, 50 Cent could have threatened Tomkins over the phone or by e-mail and had someone sent, just as Tomkins said. Nevertheless, the rapper, represented by Joseph Pastore at Dreier, says the statements by Tomkins are utterly false, gruesome and abhorrent. He's claiming more than $20 million in damages.