50 Cent is “sure” Lil Wayne was paid to support U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of the election, because the “In Da Club” hitmaker reportedly turned down his own $1 million pay day.
Wayne hit headlines in late October, just five days before Americans headed to the polls, when he posted a photo of himself meeting the Republican leader online, giving Trump the thumbs up for his criminal justice reform attempts.
The apparent endorsement split public opinion, and is even said to have cost Wayne his romance with his girlfriend, Denise Bidot, but 50 is confident his rap peer only waded into the political forum to boost his bank account.
Why Are Rappers Like Ice Cube/Lil Wayne/50 Cent Linking With Donald Trump? It’s Complicated.
He made the remarks during an interview on New York radio show The Breakfast Club on Tuesday, claiming he was also approached by campaign bosses to back Trump publicly, in exchange for a hefty fee.
50 explained he was initially offered $500,000 to join Trump at his inauguration, if he won a second term in office, but the figure was allegedly doubled as the musician mulled over the proposition.
“(They were) offering me a million dollars to come to Trump’s inauguration, right? I passed on it…,” he said. “(It was) $500,000, and then it went up to $1 million while I was still confused with whether I should do it.”
He eventually decided to pass on the lucrative offer, because he knew Trump was only interested in attempting to secure votes from the African-American community: “He participated with different artists and s**t like that for the black vote… And I’m going, ‘Nah, I ain’t gone put myself in that position,’ ’cause I didn’t know what I was got to do to recover from it, right? To be honest with you (sic).”
And when radio co-host Charlamagne tha God made a comment about Wayne “definitely” receiving a check for his Trump campaign participation, 50 replied, “Oh yeah, I’m sure. Easily. He got paid…”
50 Cent recently revealed he ended up voting for new President-elect Joe Biden, despite initially indicating he was in Trump’s corner because he didn’t agree with the Democratic challenger’s plan to introduce higher taxes for the rich.
It’s not the first time Trump campaign bosses have attempted to woo 50 for a public endorsement – in 2017, he claimed he had been offered $500,000 to make an appearance during the property mogul and reality TV star’s initial 2016 run for the White House.
