50 Cent Suing to Stop the Release of Horror Movie He Stars In – Says he Wasn’t Paid and Never Signed a Contract
Just a couple weeks ago, the rapper-turned-actor-turned-captain of industry took to Instagram to announce his plans to sue Ryan Kavanaugh’s newly minted streaming service GenTV, following the release of the trailer for a horror movie that 50 Cent is featured in. 50 is suing for a minimum of $5 million and to stop the release of the film, saying he wasn’t paid and never signed a formal contract for his role, and he also cites trademark infringement, false advertising and unfair competition.
Skillhouse Sells Hype—50 Cent Calls Foul
The film, titled “Skillhouse,” is a dark satire about a group of influencers competing in a series of life-or-death internet challenges where only one person will make it out alive, dubbed a “high-stakes social media nightmare.” The movie is planned to be the inaugural feature for GenTV, a new free streaming service designed to mainly feature influencers and internet personalities in a new light. 50 Cent appears in the “Skillhouse” trailer (playing himself), and a large portion of the film’s marketing centers around it being a ‘50 Cent Movie’ and ‘Produced by 50 Cent,’ which it isn’t. Obviously, this didn’t sit right with the rapper/business mogul; he didn’t sign off on the use of his name for marketing schemes, and when considering the fact that he has his own streaming platform (“50 Cent Action” on Roku TV), the false claims of his connection to GenTV and the exploitation of his name and status could negatively impact his own streaming business.
Going into production for “Skillhouse,” 50 agreed to film some of his scenes for the movie based on good faith, anticipating that an official deal/contract would be reached later between himself and the film’s producers. When that never came, and when Kavanaugh and the folks at GenTV began to promote the film by exploiting 50’s celebrity status, 50 (who has still not been compensated) decided to take legal action to block the film’s release.
Hollywood’s Repeat Offender? Kavanaugh’s Past Comes Back Streamin
Ryan Kavanaugh (the man behind GenTV) has already had his fair share of Hollywood controversy, so it isn’t the biggest surprise to see him tangled up in yet another industry lawsuit. Nearly a decade ago, the media company he co-created was at the center of its own Hollywood quarrel. Before launching GenTV, Kavanaugh founded Relativity Media, a production company that had wide-reaching success before ultimately declaring bankruptcy after a series of missing loan payments and subsequent lawsuits in what has become referred to as one of the most notorious bankruptcy suits in entertainment industry history. So, Kavanaugh clearly has a background of this sort of thing, and now 50 is calling him out on it.
“Skillhouse” is supposedly set for a July 11th release, and is currently slated to be the first feature film on GenTV, but amid the pushback from 50 Cent, it seems likely that it will get delayed, if not scrapped entirely.
