50 Cent sues over internet shooting game
50 Cent is claiming damages worth $1 billion
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Sunday, 22, Jul 2007 06:59
Rapper 50 Cent is suing an internet firm for $1 million (£486,000) over claims web surfers were encouraged to shoot his likeness in an online game.
Lawyers representing the 32-year-old, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, say Traffix Inc of New York illegally used his image in the game, which appeared as at the top of browsers.
According to court papers filed in the US the 'Shoot the Rapper' game saw a character resembling 50 Cent walk back and forth across the screen, while a successful 'hit' from players with a click of the mouse would see a splash of blood.
Users would then be transferred to a vendor's web page, the rapper's lawyer Peter Raymond said.
Although the game does not explicitly use 50 Cent's name, Raymond said "there's no doubt the character is intended to be him".
50 Cent is himself a victim of gun crime after being shot nine times in a drive-by seven years ago, an incident referenced in his 2005 movie biopic Get Rich or Die Tryin'.
But the In Da Club rapper has faced criticism in the past for glamorising gun crime and gang-related violence.