{"id":12746,"date":"2024-06-22T20:28:43","date_gmt":"2024-06-22T20:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/used82.com\/?p=12746"},"modified":"2024-06-22T20:28:43","modified_gmt":"2024-06-22T20:28:43","slug":"50-cent-sued-taco-bell-for-4-million-after-it-asked-him-to-change-his-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/used82.com\/?p=12746","title":{"rendered":"50 Cent sued Taco Bell for $4 million after it asked him to change his name"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"summary_summary__q_VAA\">Rapper 50 Cent filed a $4 million lawsuit against Taco Bell in 2008<\/h2>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\"><strong>50 Cent wasn&#8217;t best pleased when Taco Bell suggested he changed his stage name.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">Back in 2008, (arguably at the height of the\u00a0<a class=\"link_link__LDfG6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unilad.com\/music\">&#8216;Candy Shop&#8217; rapper<\/a>&#8216;s fame) Taco Bell brought out a new campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">Titled &#8216;Why Pay More?&#8217;, the popular\u00a0<a class=\"link_link__LDfG6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unilad.com\/food-and-drink\">fast food chain<\/a>\u00a0released its value menu in May that year and had a series of items are prices from 79\u00a2, 89\u00a2, and 99\u00a2 &#8211;\u00a0<a class=\"link_link__LDfG6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unilad.com\/news\/food-and-drink\/taco-bell-receipt-inflation-fast-food-price-782762-20240119\">a far cry from its current prices<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">As part of the campaign, Taco Bell made a tongue-in-cheek suggestion to\u00a0<a class=\"link_link__LDfG6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unilad.com\/50-cent\">50 Cent<\/a>\u00a0(real nameCurtis James Jackson III) to change his name to 79 Cent, 89 Cent or 99 Cent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">It went down like a lead balloon with the\u00a0<a class=\"link_link__LDfG6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unilad.com\/rap\">rapper<\/a>\u00a0though, who went on to sue Taco Bell for an eye-watering\u00a0<a class=\"link_link__LDfG6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unilad.com\/money\">$4 million<\/a>\u00a0and accused the company of using his name in its campaign without his permission.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">The lawsuit stated at the time,\u00a0<a class=\"link_link__LDfG6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/2008\/jul\/25\/50.cent.sues.taco.bell\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">as per<\/a>\u00a0The Guardian: &#8220;Without seeking or obtaining Jackson&#8217;s authorisation, defendant Taco Bell made him the star and focus of its nationwide advertising campaign by using his name, persona and trademark to promote Taco Bell&#8217;s business and products.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-image_articleImage__eyzAn\">\n<div class=\"article-image_imageWrapper__ANtPE\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=3840&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt84a17e8f72813c80\/6676d48acdf11d638d016d51\/GettyImages-566026511.jpg\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=640&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt84a17e8f72813c80\/6676d48acdf11d638d016d51\/GettyImages-566026511.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=750&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt84a17e8f72813c80\/6676d48acdf11d638d016d51\/GettyImages-566026511.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=828&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt84a17e8f72813c80\/6676d48acdf11d638d016d51\/GettyImages-566026511.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=1080&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt84a17e8f72813c80\/6676d48acdf11d638d016d51\/GettyImages-566026511.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=1200&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt84a17e8f72813c80\/6676d48acdf11d638d016d51\/GettyImages-566026511.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=1920&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt84a17e8f72813c80\/6676d48acdf11d638d016d51\/GettyImages-566026511.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=2048&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt84a17e8f72813c80\/6676d48acdf11d638d016d51\/GettyImages-566026511.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=3840&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt84a17e8f72813c80\/6676d48acdf11d638d016d51\/GettyImages-566026511.jpg 3840w\" alt=\"Taco Bell released it's 'Why Pay More?' campaign in 2008. (Carolyn Cole\/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" data-nimg=\"fill\" \/><\/div>\n<p><cite class=\"image-credit_imageCredit__YMlqS\">Taco Bell released it&#8217;s &#8216;Why Pay More?&#8217; campaign in 2008. (Carolyn Cole\/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)<\/cite><\/div>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">&#8220;As Taco Bell intended, many customers believed that 50 Cent had agreed to endorse Taco Bell&#8217;s products. Indeed, postings on numerous internet &#8216;blogs&#8217; castigated 50 Cent for &#8216;selling out&#8217; by his apparent endorsement of Taco Bell,&#8221; the lawsuit continued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">But spokesman for Taco Bell at the time Rob Poetsch went on to say in the wake of the suit: &#8220;We made a good faith, charitable offer to 50 Cent to change his name to either 79, 89 or 99 Cent for one day by rapping his order at a Taco Bell, and we would have been very pleased to make the $10,000 donation to the charity of his choice.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">The following year it was revealed that the rapper won the lawsuit, but terms of the settlement were never revealed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-image_articleImage__eyzAn\">\n<div class=\"article-image_imageWrapper__ANtPE\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=3840&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt17f8c351c4690b66\/6676d4cdcc90913bf2a0278a\/GettyImages-2155595416.jpg\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=640&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt17f8c351c4690b66\/6676d4cdcc90913bf2a0278a\/GettyImages-2155595416.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=750&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt17f8c351c4690b66\/6676d4cdcc90913bf2a0278a\/GettyImages-2155595416.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=828&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt17f8c351c4690b66\/6676d4cdcc90913bf2a0278a\/GettyImages-2155595416.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=1080&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt17f8c351c4690b66\/6676d4cdcc90913bf2a0278a\/GettyImages-2155595416.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=1200&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt17f8c351c4690b66\/6676d4cdcc90913bf2a0278a\/GettyImages-2155595416.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=1920&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt17f8c351c4690b66\/6676d4cdcc90913bf2a0278a\/GettyImages-2155595416.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=2048&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt17f8c351c4690b66\/6676d4cdcc90913bf2a0278a\/GettyImages-2155595416.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=3840&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt17f8c351c4690b66\/6676d4cdcc90913bf2a0278a\/GettyImages-2155595416.jpg 3840w\" alt=\"50 Cent went on to file a $4 million lawsuit against Taco Bell. (Kent Nishimura\/Getty Images)\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" data-nimg=\"fill\" \/><\/div>\n<p><cite class=\"image-credit_imageCredit__YMlqS\">50 Cent went on to file a $4 million lawsuit against Taco Bell. (Kent Nishimura\/Getty Images)<\/cite><\/div>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">&#8220;As is often the case in these situations, the parties have agreed not to discuss anything about the settlement except to say both sides are satisfied,&#8221; 50 Cent&#8217;s lawyer said at the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">The only information shared was that both parities paid for their own respective legal fees as part of the deal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">It&#8217;s not uncommon for\u00a0<a class=\"link_link__LDfG6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unilad.com\/celebrity\">celebrities<\/a>\u00a0to find themselves in legal battles with huge brands &#8211; something which John Cena knows all about.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">In 2017, the WWE favorite was slapped with a\u00a0<a class=\"link_link__LDfG6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unilad.com\/celebrity\/news\/john-cena-sued-by-ford-043816-20240620\">$500,000 lawsuit from Ford<\/a> after he sold his brand new GT without the car manufacturer&#8217;s permission.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">12 months later they settled the suit out of court and Cena issued a public apology to Ford.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rapper 50 Cent filed a $4 million lawsuit against Taco Bell in 2008 50 Cent&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":170,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12746\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/used82.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}