Rapper 50 Cent’s commentary on a Brooklyn deputy allegedly targeting a club for perks has resulted in a probe by the New York Police Department.
50, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, posted on Instagram Wednesday, May 23 a series of reports about Deputy Inspector Emmanuel Gonzalez, who is accused of shaking down a hip-hop club to get freebies like roundtrip tickets to Puerto Rico.
“Oh no not LUST,” Page Six reports the rapper said of the Love & Lust club in a now-deleted post. “They trying to shut him down,” he added of club owner Imran Jairam, who plans to sue for $125 million claiming that Gonzalez unfairly targeted his club for inspections to squeeze him for perks.
The issue at hand, however, is 50 completing his caption with his catchphrase, “Get the strap.”
“There is a formal complaint on file for aggravated harassment and detectives are investigating,” an NYPD spokesperson told the website Thursday, May 24.
A high-ranking source added, “They are taking this seriously.”
In response, 50’s rep issued a statement to various outlets saying that the rapper made the remark in jest. They also said the MC has filed to trademark the slogan.
“Months ago, Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson filed to trademark the phrase ‘Get The Strap,’ a slogan he has been posting across all of his social media platforms,” it said. “It is posted in connection with photographs and videos, including many featuring just him or things he is promoting.”
“Taken in its proper context, the specific post in question was neither intended as, nor could reasonably be interpreted as, a threat or call to violence against anyone,” the statement continued. “So the record is clear, Mr. Jackson does not condone or promote the use of violence against anyone. ‘Get The Strap’ is a playful phrase used by Mr. Jackson to punctuate absurd and outrageous situations.”
Jackson showed proof of the filing himself on social media. He also posted responses to the NYPD investigation as well as a take on Jairam’s lawsuit from “Ebro In the Morning.”
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