RICK ROSS BABY MAMA WANTS ANOTHER $15 MILLION FROM 50 CENT
“I should be so broke, with $10.6 million in cash in the bank,” the attorney, Philip Freidin, said.
Fitty filed for bankruptcy on July 13, just days after the same jury slapped him with a $5 million verdict for violating Leviston’s civil rights and causing her emotional distress.
The “Get Rich or Die Tryin'” rapper’s lawyer said his client has been punished enough.
“His true financial condition has been exposed as a result of this trial,” James Renard said.
While Leviston “has been vindicated now by your verdict,” the same ruling has already hurt Fitty plenty, he said.
“By your verdict, you have in some effect, changed fame to shame, changed celebrity to notoriety, tarnished the brand. That in a way is a form of punishment that will affect Mr. Jackson, and we accept that. That’s had a tremendous effect,” Renard said.
He suggested the jury award Leviston about $700,000 — which he said is all the money his client has made in the past two years from playing a sold-out show in London, and acting in the movies “Spy,” “Southpaw” and the TV show “Power.”
Freidin countered the jury needed to slap him with a large verdict to ensure he takes the case seriously.
He noted that after the bankruptcy filing, Fitty crowed about having stalled the case during an appearance on Conan O’Brien’s talk show, where he referred to himself as “a target.”
He also noted that the superstar hit a strip club afterwards, where he literally was throwing around money.
“Mr. Renard says he’s taking this very seriously,” and respects the earlier verdict, Freidin said. So “why would he go to a strip club, take wads of hundreds of dollars in bills and fling them up in the air? How is that respecting?”
He also noted that Fitty — who claims to be $20 million in the red — loaned his various companies more than $29 million after Leviston filed her suit, which was not reflected in his bankruptcy filings. He also failed to account for much of the approximately $270 million he says he’s collected over the past 15 years.
Freidin urged the jury to make him pay another $15 million.
“If it’s a small amount, it won’t matter to him,” he said.
The six person jury started deliberating shortly before noon.