14 DAY TRIAL // Rapper 50 Cent is running the risk of having to fork a fortune in damages for taking to Twitter and Instagram to urge his collaborators to never work with Sally Ferreira, a model and a dancer whose services he contracted for a video shoot.
Sally and Fiddy seemed quite friendly in several photos from the set for the music video for “Big Rich Town,” that leaked online last month and were used by two major gossip e-zines as “proof” that the two were romantically involved.
Because the shoot was supposed to be super secret, the rapper assumed that it was Ferreira who leaked the pics and, at the same time, who planted the dating rumors with the publications. So, he took to his social media accounts, Twitter and Instagram, and told his over 9 million followers in total to stop working with this “thirsty video [B-word].”
He also implied that he had fired her because of the leak and would be reshooting the video without her. Within hours, he had deleted the messages but, by that time, the damage was already done, Ferreira claims in court documents obtained by the New York Daily News.
She’s suing the rapper and seeking $11 million (€7.95 million) in damages for “extreme emotional distress” and loss of revenue as a direct result of the rapper’s online defamation campaign. Consequently, her modeling career is “ruined” and she has had to endure public ridicule because of something that she didn’t do.
Ferreira insists that she didn’t leak the photos. She also says that she would have never even thought of planting stories about her and 50 Cent, especially since she’s been in a serious relationship for almost a decade, a fact that the rapper was well aware of.
“Without undertaking any investigation whatsoever, Mr. Jackson falsely accused Ms. Ferreira of being the source of the MediaTakeOut.com coverage by posting a picture of Ms. Ferreira on his personal Instagram account with the following text superimposed over her image,” the lawsuit says.
The text read, “WARNING: Do not attempt to work with this thirsty Video [B-word].” “Before the defamatory posting, Ms. Ferreira was working on three separate entertainment industry projects and enjoyed a good reputation in the industry,” the lawsuit continues.
Because of the rapper’s message, all three projects are now on indefinite hold and the offers have stopped coming in. “Moreover, as a direct and proximate result of Mr. Jackson’s actions, Ms. Ferreira has been subjected to harsh and hurtful comments about her profession, character, and appearance, causing her severe emotional distress,” the court documents say.
50 Cent wasn’t available for comment at the time word of the lawsuit got out.