The legal war between 50 Cent and Shaniqua Tompkins has taken a dark turn as new allegations of physical violence surface in court documents.
While the G-Unit mogul is currently suing his ex for $1 million, claiming she breached a 2007 life rights agreement, Tompkins is fighting back by describing a culture of fear and intimidation. Her latest claims suggest that the business deals between the two were signed under extreme physical duress.
The most jarring detail comes from a sworn affidavit where Tompkins recounts a 2005 incident involving the film “Get Rich Or Die Tryin'”. According to Tompkins, a meeting at the New York headquarters of Violator Management turned into a physical assault when she refused to sign a contract correctly.
“When he looked at it and saw that I signed ‘Jane Doe’, he grabbed me by the hair, dragged to the other end of the office, pushed me to the floor and started choking me telling me that he will hurt and embarrass me right there at the offices of Violator Records if I didn’t sign,” she revealed in the filing.
50 Cent’s legal team has moved quickly to label these accusations as a tactical distraction. Attorney Lisa Coyle argues that even if the court considers these claims, they are irrelevant to the 2007 book deal that is the focus of the current lawsuit.
“Although Tompkins’ pleading contains (false) allegations that Jackson threatened force to coerce her into signing a prior agreement, it is not the agreement that is at issue in this action,” Coyle stated. She further dismissed the claims of assault during the signing of the book deal, noting, “Tompkins claims (falsely) that a different agreement was signed in 2005 due to allegedly threatened violence. No such allegations are included regarding execution of the [book] Agreement.”
Tompkins and her attorneys are using these allegations to argue that any contracts signed with 50 Cent are invalid. They claim that “unjust pressure” was a recurring theme in their business relationship and that she never received fair compensation or proper legal counsel before signing her life rights away.
Meanwhile, 50 Cent is focused on what he calls a clear breach of contract. His team maintains that Tompkins committed fraud by participating in interviews and pursuing media opportunities that violated their existing non-disclosure agreements.
The New York court system must now decide if the alleged history of violence is enough to toss out the million dollar contract claim.
