50 Cent Visits Capitol Hill to Advocate for Black Entrepreneurs in Liquor Industry
- 50 Cent took a surprise trip to Capitol Hill with attorney Ben Crump on Wednesday
- During their visit, the two spoke to lawmakers about bridging the wealth gap for Black entrepreneurs and pushing for more representation in the luxury liquor space
- 50 Cent’s trip comes amid his ongoing legal battle with Suntory Global Spirits, which he claims was involved in an embezzlement scheme
Business never stops for 50 Cent.
On Wednesday, June 5, the rap mogul and producer (real name Curtis Jackson), 48, traveled down to Capitol Hill to advocate for fellow Black business owners and push for more representation in the luxury liquor space, The Hill reports. He was joined by civil rights attorney Ben Crump during his surprise visit, where the two spoke to lawmakers about how they could potentially bridge the wealth gap and carve out more space for Black-owned spirits companies.
“Mr. Jackson is one of the most successful Black entrepreneurs in America,” Crump said, per the outlet. “We’re here today to talk about how he’s trying to knock down barriers of equal access and equal opportunity to have a seat at the table in all industries.”
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Per USA Today, while addressing a Capitol Hill crowd, 50 Cent said, “This is really exciting for me. I got a chance to meet with both sides today, and it feels really good.”
He added of representatives in Washington, “They don’t agree on a lot of stuff, and so to get them to agree on seeing me was an accomplishment in itself.”
Following his visit, 50 Cent also said, “My experience here has been great. I went to talk to them about economic opportunities for everybody, and it’s really exciting. The response I got makes me feel that there’s bright days ahead of us.”
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50 Cent is a longtime businessman who’s invested in several ventures across television, film, video games, book publishing, fashion, the liquor industry and more over the years. The rap star, who owns Sire Spirits, has been involved in an ongoing legal battle with Suntory Global Spirits — one of the world’s largest producers of alcoholic beverages — after alleging that the liquor producer was complicit in an embezzlement scheme that nearly cost him his brand millions of dollars, per documents previously obtained by PEOPLE.
Hours before his Capitol Hill trip, 50 Cent wrote on X, “I’m off to DC 🛫to talk to the Congressional Black Caucus about how @SuntoryGlobal has damaged my business “#TheyLackHonor.”
In another X post, the BMF producer added, “You can change your name from Beam Suntory to Suntory Global spirits but you still robbed him 🤷🏽♂️I just want mines. Tell your friends in your DISCUS meeting, you haven’t been under compliance at all.”
In March, 50 Cent posted a clip of a FOX 5 NY report about Suntory Global Spirits’ (formerly known as Beam Suntory) allegations on Instagram, telling the company that it’s “gonna pay for what they did trust me.”
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“These big companies think they can get away with anything,” he continued in a caption. “It has cost me millions in legal fees. They are gonna find out I’m not the one you want to play with.”
In his court filing, 50 Cent claimed that his brand, Sire Spirits, overpaid for the liquor supplied by Suntory Global Spirits and that the company took kickbacks of about $6 million. The liquor producer “vehemently” denied “all allegations of wrongdoing” in an email statement sent to PEOPLE on March 12.
“[Suntory Global Spirits] had no involvement in or knowledge of the fraudulent activity alleged in the complaint, and any allegation to the contrary has no basis in fact,” it said. “It is undisputed that we honored all prior obligations to Mr. Jackson and Sire Spirits, and it is very unfortunate that the parties involved continue to misrepresent the facts and misdirect blame in an attempt to recover fees and damages.”
