Hip-hop star 50 Cent has been shot and doesn't think it's funny. On Friday he sued Internet advertising company Traffix Inc for using his image without permission in the graphic "Shoot the Rapper" ad, which he says promotes violence and threatens his safety. The lawsuit seeks a minimum of US$1 million in damages.
The Internet ad features a cartoon representation of 50 Cent and the message "shoot the Rapper and you will WIN $5,000 or 5 RINGTONES GUARANTEED."
The ad invites the user to use his or her computer mouse to aim and fire at the rapper, a well-known victim of gun violence. If the user fires successfully, the screen becomes bathed in red and the user is redirected to the Traffix Web site, the lawsuit says.
The bullet-scarred, tattooed rapper, whose given name is Curtis Jackson, was shot nine times in 2000 in a drive-by near his grandmother's house in Queens, New York, where he was raised.
In 2005, he starred in a movie based on his life, Get Rich or Die Tryin'.
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