50 Cent, aka Curtis James Jackson III, has been ordered by Manhattan jurors to cough up $5 million as damages for violating the civil rights of a woman by using her image without her permission and for intentionally inflicting her emotional distress.
The punitive damages are expected to increase as the jury is scheduled to meet next week to ponder over possible further damages, Fox News reported. The order stems from an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit filed by Lastonia Leviston, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, who has accused the rapper of releasing a sex-tape, she made with her boyfriend, without her permission, by adding himself as a crude commentator in it.
The 13-minute racy video first appeared online in 2009, featuring the wig-wearing 40-year-old rapper as the commentator, dubbed as Pimpin' Curly, who allegedly made explicit remarks about Leviston and his rival rapper, Rick Ross in the clip. Although Ross was not featured in the video, the woman was known to be romantically involved with him, with whom she also has a daughter.
During the time when video surfaced, Ross and 50 Cent were known for feuding and slamming each other through videos, lyrics and interviews. It turned out that the man, who is featured in the controversial video, was approached by the "Candy Shop" rapper, who allegedly claimed at the time that Leviston will not mind if the video is released.
The 36-year-old woman was reportedly seen with her family in tears in the courtroom, who claimed that she was horrified and humiliated when the video appeared online, Mirror reported. 50 Cent, who claimed during sworn pretrial questioning that he had just jokingly called her "porn star" in the video, reportedly did not testify at the trial.