50 Cent is defending his “Power” franchise from a man who wants a billion dollars from the rapper.
As AllHipHop first reported in April of 2021, Cory “Ghost” Holland Sr. filed the ten-figure lawsuit against 50 Cent, Courtney Kemp, Starz, claiming “Power” is based on his life as a New York drug kingpin.
According to Holland, he produced a cautionary tale about his life as a drug-lord in 2007, put it on CD, and distributed it to at-risk children.
Holland claims he met with Courtney Kemp’s father in the early 1990s to discuss his life story as he attempted to exit the drug trade.
In 2007, Holland said he mailed a copy of his CD to Kemp’s dad. The CD had an autobiographical song where he raps about being a “druglord,” falling in love with his “teen crush” (who is Puerto Rican) and finding out from his white, best friend/drug trafficking partner that his teen crush now works in law enforcement.
Holland claimed he also rapped about leaving his wife, who is a Black woman, for his Puerto-Rican love interest. At the end of the song, someone tries to murder Holland.
He claims Mr. Kemp shared the CD with Courtney, and that 50 Cent ultimately received a copy and ripped off his life story.
Holland claims over 200 scenes in the hit series are based on his life, and that law enforcement raided his home when “Power” aired.
“This is not one of those lawsuits from a deranged fan or some somebody trying capitalize-off someone else’s success,” Holland said. “This is about the actual theft of my life, and the damages that it has done as well the profits that the defendants have made from the of stealing and telling my life story without my consent.”
However, 50 Cent and his legal team with Starz beg to differ.
Earlier this week, 50’s legal team fired back at Holland in an attempt to have the complaint dismissed.
“[Holland] fails to state any claim upon which relief can be granted. More specifically, [Holland] fails to identify any defamatory statements made about him in connection with the fictional television series ‘Power,'” 50 Cent’s lawyer, Joanna M. Hill, of law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman, explained.
“He fails to allege that his name, portrait or picture was used in connection with Power, or that any such use was a prohibited advertising use,” Hill added.
The rapper’s lawyers claim Holland’s lawsuit is a frivolous attempt to cash in on the success of “Power” and its spin-offs.
Hill also argues that Holland filed his lawsuit too late.
The last episode of “Power” aired in February 2020. Holland filed his lawsuit in April of 2021, so his claim is barred by the one-year statute of limitations under New York law.
“It is evident that the characters in ‘Power’ are entirely fictionalized and therefore, no reasonable person could rationally believe any character in the series is based on [Holland] or his life,” Hill concluded.