50 Cent's History With Women: An Open Letter to Netflix
He's not the one to create a documentary about sexual assault. Period.
So…a few years ago I was sexually assaulted by a very famous man while working for People magazine. I had had a run-in of sorts with him years before that, too. I mentioned this briefly in my viral letter in 2016, as the celebrity’s assault on me was a big part of the reason I left the industry so publicly in 2016.
Most victims and survivors bear an extra burden on top of the trauma of the assault itself—you have to see him at work, maybe at parties, maybe you find out which friends don’t believe you, maybe he was caught and then found not guilty—and in my case, when your assailant is a celebrity, you’re not allowed to move on. You hear his music in exercise class, see his face on movie and TV screens, endure fandoms idolizing him and journalists fawning.
On a totally separate topic, here’s my open letter to Netflix about 50 Cent/Curtis James Jackson III, which we’re told is paying big bucks for 50 to create a documentary about the horrific alleged crimes against women by Diddy/Sean Combs.
Please read. Please share. Please help get Netflix to see how harmful this is to victims and survivors everywhere.
To: Netflix
From: Sara Hammel
Re: 50 Cent/Curtis James Jackson III and Diddy/Sean Combs
June 4, 2024
Dear Netflix,
50 Cent says you won a bidding war for his documentary about Diddy. I have a question: As self-professed practitioners of “allyship,” will you be paying a man who’s faced multiple allegations of abuse against women to create a documentary about a man facing multiple allegations of abuse against women?
I am an author and a journalist who’s won awards for my reporting on gender discrimination and issues of concern to women. I previously covered crime and celebrities for People magazine, and in the course of that work I was sexually assaulted by a famous man. When your assailant is a celebrity, you’re not allowed to move on. You hear his music in exercise class, see his face on movie and TV screens, endure fandoms idolizing him and journalists fawning. The celebrity’s assault on me was a big part of the reason I left the industry so publicly in 2016.
It is triggering, damaging and distressing for victims and survivors of any perpetrator to witness a man connected to abusive behavior platformed in this way—especially in the context of such brazen hypocrisy. Because of Curtis James Jackson III’s megaphone, I can’t avoid this news. I suspect neither can Shaniqua Tomkpins, Daphne Joy, Tatted up Holly, Lastonia Leviston, Teairra Marí, Terry Crews and others.
As Crews said of his assault by a Hollywood power player in emotional testimony to the Senate—for which 50 Cent publicly mocked him—“while he held my genitals in his hand, [he was telling me] that he held the power, that he was in control.”
Why would Netflix entrust a person with Jackson’s documented history of harming women (see attached list) with the delicate, important, and complex story of Sean Combs/Diddy’s many alleged crimes against women? You must know this would trigger victims and survivors worldwide. Please take a moment to study these harrowing statistics from RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) about the exorbitant numbers and immeasurable suffering of sexual assault victims.
As you read this, ask yourself how many more women need to tell us what happened to them before they are believed. Ask yourself how many more times he has to show us who he is before you believe him. Below are some easily discoverable incidents involving Curtis Jackson III, available with a few quick Google searches. There is no TL;DR version of this list. If it’s too long to read, that tells you everything you need to know.
1. In a lawsuit filed against 50 Cent/Curtis Jackson III by Shaniqua Tompkins, the mother of his eldest child, court papers allege that in 2005, “in the offices of Violator Records in New York City, defendant [Jackson] violently assaulted plaintiff by grabbing her hair, pushing her to the floor, and choking her until she signed a release…in connection with the film [“Get Rich or Die Tryin’”]. (50 denied the claim, which was never tested in court because it was time barred).
2. In 2007, according to court papers in the Tompkins case, Jackson “asked to meet [Tompkins] in his hotel room ‘to talk’; plaintiff declined, insisting to talk after the closing. Plaintiff stated that she ‘went along with certain things,’ because she “loved him” but she had been ‘fed up’ with ‘his nonsense’ of beating her and ‘mess[ing] around with other women.’”
3. In 2013, Jackson was charged with one count of domestic violence and four counts of vandalism against Daphne Joy, the mother of one of his children, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer said. “During an argument, Jackson allegedly began destroying property…Allegedly when [Joy] locked herself in her bedroom, Jackson kicked open the bedroom door and kicked her, causing an injury.”
4. Police found broken chandeliers and furniture throughout the home. The bedroom was ransacked, with a television and lamp broken, a release said. Jackson struck a deal for three years’ probation and 30 days of community service, pleading no contest to a single count of misdemeanor vandalism; three vandalism counts and one count of misdemeanor domestic violence were dropped. He was ordered to pay $7,100 in restitution and $2,390 in fines, Reuters reported.
5. In 2015, Lastonia Leviston sued Jackson for posting a sex tape she made with a former boyfriend without her consent and narrating it with cruel commentary. “Lastonia Leviston…wiped away tears as her attorney described the graphic video with commentary by [Jackson] picking apart Leviston’s physical flaws and trashing her as a ‘slut,’” wrote the New York Post. “‘The camera, of course, filmed her private parts,’ Leviston’s lawyer Philip Freidin told the jury. ‘At some point [Jackson] starts describing her private parts in intimate detail in a way that none of us would want to happen. He makes reference to her stretch marks from her birth.’” Leviston said Jackson’s actions nearly drove her to suicide.
6. A jury sided with Leviston. Jackson was ordered to pay her $7 million—but in the midst of it, he filed for bankruptcy, generating headlines like 50 Cent’s Bogus Revenge Porn Bankruptcy, Why 50 Cent won’t beat the revenge porn rap by crying bankruptcy, and 50 Cent Files For Suspiciously Timed Bankruptcy.
7. Leviston’s attorneys wrote, “Pullman & Comley’s Bankruptcy team successfully thwarted the rapper’s attempt to derail the trial in the case of Leviston v. Curtis Jackson III... Mr. Jackson filed his bankruptcy petition in Hartford fifteen minutes before the start of a…hearing on whether he must pay our client punitive damages on top of the $5 million. On the same day Mr. Jackson filed, our attorneys filed an emergency motion for relief from the automatic stay…within the week, the Bankruptcy Court granted an order allowing the trial to proceed...”
8. In 2015, Jackson wrote a slut-shaming caption under an image of his ex-girlfriend Tatted up Holly on Instagram: “This hoe community p***y.” Holly responded by posting an alleged text conversation between the two. “U got way more to lose than me,” her text to Jackson reads. “Let’s see how these pics I got of u beating my ass will look.” “Don’t do nothing stupid Holly. Let’s calm down,” Jackson responded. Holly posted a note along with the texts: “U are nothin but a manipulating women beater. You’re a fucking bully. Puts fear in everybody’s heart mistaking it for respect. I treated this man like royalty but all I got in return was ass whippings…I’m sorry I will not tolerate a grown ass man putting their hands on me. I was good before you I will good without you @50cent.”
9. Within days, Holly’s posts were down and Jackson posted a gushing apology for… something: “Public apology: this women is good person. She has been a great friend to me for a year. I enjoy seeing her grow and progress in so many ways in a short period of time. I have no interest in seeing her down. She is a winner at heart, so she will always win…”
10. In 2018, Jackson mocked sexual assault victim Terry Crews, an actor and former football player who had just given emotional testimony to a Senate committee about the sexual abuse he endured by a powerful Hollywood man in 2016. Crews bravely testified that “The assault latest only minutes but what he was effectively telling me, while he held my genitals in his hand, was that he held the power, that he was in control...” (I, too, was sexually assaulted by a powerful man in entertainment, and found Crews’ testimony courageous, moving, and relatable). Jackson posted a photo showing the muscular Crews with the caption: “I got raped, my wife just watched.” Days later, in response to public outcry, Jackson posted a photo of himself lying on a couch, and his caption doubled down with the mocking tone.
11. In 2018, according to a People magazine article headlined “50 Cent Wouldn’t Mind If His Son Got Hit by a Bus,” Jackson wrote on social media under a photo of his eldest son, “if both these little [redacted] got hit by a bus, I wouldn’t have a bad day.” The story also recounted how Jackson recently Instagrammed about his ex Shaniqua Tompkins: “Get a f------ job. I own your life rights reality TV is a no go. l don’t know what to tell you, oh go shake your new fake a— over at club Angels.”
12. In 2018/19 Teairra Marí sued Jackson after he Instagrammed a sexually graphic image of her without her consent. She also sued her ex, Akbar Abdul-Ahad, for posting a “sex tape and an obscene photo” of her to social media as a form of revenge porn intended “clearly to humiliate” her. Jackson denied wrongdoing, saying the image was all over the internet by the time he posted. Mari’s lawsuit said Jackson encouraged fans to hurt her when he captioned his post “get the strap.” Jackson denied he meant to incite violence. A judge ruled in his favor, and she was ordered to pay some of his court costs.
13. It wasn’t over for Mari. In an insightful piece on Blavity headlined “50 Cent isn’t petty; he’s a case study in misogynoir,” author Amanda Monroe writes, “From posting video..of her being served to gloating via half-hearted threats about having all her earnings sent directly to him, it appears…50 Cent is willing to go above and beyond in order to perpetuate Mari’s public humiliation.” He also posted an image with the words “come dumpster” splashed over Mari's mouth. “50 Cent’s cyberbullying and harassment is overlooked, and thus encouraged, specifically because he's attacking Black women — a population that he and his endorsers seem to care nothing about,” Monroe concludes.
14. In March of 2024, Daphne Joy wrote on Instagram that Jackson had raped her. “Let’s put the real focus on your true evil actions of raping me and physically abusing me,” Joy wrote.
15. In May 2024, Jackson sued Daphne Joy—the woman whose domestic violence call to police alleged he physically attacked her—for defamation, saying she “falsely” called him a rapist. Curtis Jackson and Sean Combs both know Daphne. Jackson’s legal team says, “The motivation behind this appears to be Ms. Narvaez’s unfortunate entanglement and misguided loyalty to Mr. Combs, who we believe to be underwriting this attack and whom Mr. Jackson has been warning Ms. Narvaez and others about for many years.” (Curtis James Jackson III “warning” people about an alleged sexual predator? Netflix, please).
I stopped digging after I found these incidents, because if this list doesn’t move you, nothing will.
What is publicly known about Jackson makes it feel like an odd choice of a producer to handle the most sensitive and traumatic subject matter your viewers will ever see or hear. Or is it most important to you to platform those who yell the loudest and have the most Instagram followers?
What you do next could make a world of difference to the mental and even physical well-being of sexual assault survivors everywhere. Thank you for listening.
Sincerely,
Sara Hammel
About me
I’m an award-winning journalist and bestselling author with decades of international experience writing for magazines and newspapers including People, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, the Sunday Times Magazine (UK), Glamour, Shape, Epicurious.com, and more.
My 2021 memoir/military history book The Strong Ones: How a Band of Civilian Women Made Their Mark on the Army was an overnight #1 bestseller on Amazon in 2021. Said former U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, “The Strong Ones provides an inspirational message for our times.”
My crime reporting includes the most high-profile cases of the past decades. I’ve been sent to Italy to report on the Amanda Knox case, Portugal to cover Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, London to cover the aftermath of the 7/7 bombings, L.A. for the death of Michael Jackson, and Sandy Hook, Conn. to cover the horrific school shooting, to name a few.
I was the first-ever recipient of the Jane Cunningham Croly Award for Excellence in Journalism Covering Issues of Concern to Women from the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. Winners after me included Marianne Pearl, and judges were legends in journalism like Judy Woodruff. I contributed to the feminist anthology Letters of Intent (Free Press/Simon & Schuster, 1999) alongside such icons as Gloria Steinem, Ntozake Shange and Judy Blume, receiving a noted review from the New York Times. I am the author of a total of 13 fiction and nonfiction books, some of them under a pen name.