50 Cent is basking in praise for his Netflix docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning_,_ but he’s also firing off new legal shots in a bitter Hollywood war over a movie he says hijacked his name, face, and brand.
The rap mogul just filed another blistering lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court, accusing Skillhouse producer Ryan Kavanaugh and his companies of breaking a settlement and continuing to use his image to promote the bombed-out horror flick and a rival streaming service.
The timing is wild.
While the rest of the world talks about The Reckoning, 50’s explosive Diddy doc laying bare years of abuse and power plays, he’s back in court fighting over what he calls “brazen and unauthorized” use of his likeness.
The doc cemented his reputation as Hip-Hop’s new truth-teller, but this case, about a movie that critics called “a giant pile of s###,” shows how protective he is of that reputation.
According to the 50-page complaint, 50 Cent agreed to appear in Skillhouse back in 2022 after some early talks with Kavanaugh, but says no final deal was ever signed.
He still filmed scenes in good faith, trusting that the paperwork would get done. It didn’t.
Instead, the lawsuit claims Kavanaugh and his crew slapped “A 50 CENT MOVIE” and “PRODUCED BY 50 CENT” across the posters and promo clips, then used his image and even bottles of his champagne brand, Le Chemin du Roi, to give the project more credibility.
That might’ve been bad enough, but the lawsuit says the situation went nuclear this spring after both sides settled the case on May 12.
50 says Kavanaugh’s team broke the deal almost immediately, never paid up, and kept promoting Skillhouse using his face and trademarks.
The real insult, according to the filing, came when Kavanaugh’s team used 50’s likeness to help launch their own streaming service, GenTV, directly competing with his own platform, 50 Cent Action, which he runs with Lionsgate.
Skillhouse barely cracked $100,000 at the box office before being yanked from theaters and 50 says the damage hit him hard. He claims the bad buzz tanked his acting offers and hurt the value of his production brand.
One furious reviewer wrote, “I think a $12 lobotomy would’ve been more enjoyable than the $12 I spent to go watch this giant pile of s###.”
Another called it “Actively one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. Barely classifies as a film.” Horror outlets piled on, branding it “time-wasting brain rot” and a “garbage dump of a movie.”
Now, 50 Cent is asking the court for at least $5 million and full control over his image rights.
For a guy whose Diddy doc just became one of Netflix’s most talked-about true crime releases, the contrast couldn’t be sharper.
On one side, 50 Cent’s Sean Combs: The Reckoning is drawing praise for its unflinching look at Hip-Hop’s fallen mogul.
On the other hand, he’s suing to keep his own brand from being dragged through the mud by a flop horror movie he says he never approved.
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