50 Cent is not pleased with Starz at the moment.
The New York rapper’s latest posts are of him blasting the television network for being a “shit show” after Starz uploaded the seventh episode of his show “BMF” for a few hours, but then suddenly took it down.
Explaining his frustration and responding to the news that Lionsgate is in talks to sell Starz, he wrote, “Starz is a sh-t show, they better sell it fast,” under the Nov. 7 Instagram photo he posted of a lion. He continued, “They put the f—ing BMF show on, then took it down. what network does that? They just ruined the anticipation of The episode i directed, I WORKED HARD ON THIS. I can’t work with these people anymore.”
Two hours later, he uploaded three photos from the episode, which included rapper Eminem, and continued to vent his irritation with Starz. “Episode 7 of BMF is the best work i have done directing to date,” he wrote. “I’m disappointed that STARZ handled this so poorly. I used my personal relationships to make things happen they couldn’t have made happen.” He also showed gratitude to Eminem for taking part in the show.
But he continued to express his disappointment in the network. After several outlets reported the “Power” star’s initial reaction to the dilemma, he posted a screenshot of Hot 97’s report of it and further elaborated on what was going on.
He wrote, “They called and told me they wanted to hold episode 7 back a week so We can roll right into GHOST Nov 21. I said cool i like that idea.Then these sh-t head people put the f—ing episode out for 3 hours then take it down. 🤦♂️ This is not ok, when I get uncomfortable i make everybody uncomfortable now who getting fired? until you figure that out don’t call my phone respectfully. #bransoncognac #lecheminduroi.”
The Hollywood Reporter revealed on Nov. 4 that Lionsgate was in talks to “explore potential capital markets alternatives” for Starz and said those options can include, “a full or partial spin-off, split-off, issuance of a tracking stock or other transactions.”
Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns said,”While we continue to realize substantial synergies from bringing Lionsgate and Starz together, we also see the opportunity to potentially unlock significant shareholder value under a scenario where investors have the ability to value our studio assets and Starz separately.”
Burns explained that the company was exploring different options that “would allow Lionsgate and Starz to preserve many of the operational benefits we’re currently achieving within a single corporate structure. Even though we don’t normally talk about equity value, it is pretty clear to us that we are not getting the value for some of our parts.”
After the announcement, Lionsgate saw a seven percent increase in its shares, according to Market Watch.
