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TACO BELL COUNTERSUES 50 CENT: Fast food chain calls rapper's lawsuit attempt to 'burnish gangsta persona.'
*Taco Bell is speaking out against a federal trademark infringement lawsuit brought against them by rapper 50 Cent over a failed promo campaign.
In a countersuit against the rapper, lawyers for the fast-food chain are calling his federal lawsuit, filed in Manhattan, another attempt to "burnish his gangsta rapper persona by distorting beyond all recognition a bona fide, good faith offer."
The suit claims that 50 has used his "colorful" past to cultivate an image of "belligerence and arrogance," and says he has a "well-publicized track record for making threats, starting feuds and filing lawsuits," while also painting himself as a charitable person who gives back to his community.
The case is rooted in a fake letter sent out by Taco Bell Corp. asking 50 Cent to change his name for one day to 79 Cent, 89 Cent or 99 Cent to help publicize its value menu. In return, the company offered to donate $10,000 to the charity of his choice. Fifty immediately sued the restaurant chain for the improper use of his name.
Taco Bell's suit claims that the "humorous but sincere" open letter it sent to 50 had an obvious "jovial spirit," but with a serious underlying offer. "The challenge — asking Jackson to temporarily change his name ... for charity — was a soft ridicule and good-natured lampoon of the rapper's moniker, 50 Cent, and his public image as a gangsta rapper."
As a defense, the suit notes that the letter from Taco Bell's president was not used in ads, that 50's name was never used in an ad campaign and that "celebrity challenges are notable and newsworthy and reported in the media."
In other 50 Cent news, the artist began production on his new film "Dead Man Running" on Wednesday (Nov. 19) in London.
As previously reported, the film follows an ex-con trying to go straight who is given 24 hours to raise $150,000 to pay off a ruthless loan shark, played by 50, or become a "dead man running."
Also starring in the film are Brenda Blethyn ("Secrets And Lies") Tamer Hassan ("Layer Cake"), Danny Dyer ("The Business"), and Monet Mazur ("Stoned").
50 Cent's next album, "Before I Self Destruct," was recently pushed back from Dec. 16 to an unspecified date early next year.
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