*A sex video 50 Cent posted on YouTube has resulted in an upcoming court appearance for the rapper.
The New York Daily News reports that jury selection will start May 26, followed by a two-week trial.
The May date for jury selection came after lawyers for 50 Cent (real name Curtis James Jackson III) were told by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Paul Wooten that he couldn’t juggle everyone’s schedule with the rapper’s request to have the trial in October.
Jackson and his accuser, Lastonia Leviston, are both expected to take the stand, according to the Daily News.
Leviston’s case against Jackson goes back to when she sued the entertainer for emotional distress in 2010 after he posted a video of her having sex with a former boyfriend, Maurice Murray.
Court papers reveal that Murray gave Jackson the tape in 2009. Jackson’s interest in the tape came after he discovered Leviston was ex-girlfriend of rapper Rick Ross. In addition to being involved with Ross, Leviston is the mother of his child. At the time of Jackson’s discovery of the tape, he and Ross were feuding rap rivals.
Prior to posting the video on YouTube, Jackson altered the tape to insert himself into it. Although he blurred Murray’s face, Jackson did not blur Leviston’s face. The Florida woman stated she almost committed suicide as a result of the mental and emotional distress caused by the video. Since its release, the video has garnered 3.2 million viewers.
On Thursday, lawyers for Jackson and Leviston asked Wooten to bar some of the evidence they found leading up to the trial. Among the requested barred items are emails and other items exchanged by Jackson and Leviston.
“For example, Leviston’s lawyers wanted to scratch statements by Jackson who said in a deposition that Murray told him Leviston was “a freak” who would “do anything sexually”; that she made several tapes with Murray; and that “she doesn’t mind” if Murray shared the tapes with Jackson,” the Daily News cited, adding that Wooten would decide shortly which evidence to eliminate.
Also for Wooten’s consideration is whether he will grant Jackson’s motion to seal papers in which a discussion on the juicy material was fully conducted.
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