Corey “Ghost” Holland filed a $300 million lawsuit against Lionsgate Entertainment in March, alleging the company enabled 50 Cent (real name Curtis Jackson) to launch an intimidation campaign against him. The suit served as an extension to Holland’s previous $1 billion lawsuit against 50 Cent in which he alleged the popular STARZ Network series Power was based on his own life. Now, in court documents obtained by AllHipHop, 50 Cent wants the whole thing tossed out, arguing Holland waited too long to filed an assault claim against him.
“Plaintiff’s claim that he suffered from severe emotional distress is undermined by the allegations that Plaintiff owns a weapon and he and his family repeatedly tried to confront Jackson,” 50 Cent’s legal team writes in the docs. “The First Amended Complaint states: ‘Plaintiff wanted to confront 50 Cent/GOONS’ and ‘plaintiff was ready to go to war with [Jackson], plaintiff family came and got him, but security had the entire street blocked off, so there was no getting near or confronting 50 Cent’ and ‘[Plaintiff’s] family returned again tried to confront 50 Cent, but Street still blocked off, 50 Cent leaves town soon after.
“Plaintiff also states that on two separate occasions, when he was at a gas station, a vehicle approached him, and he ‘grab[bed] his weapon’ and ‘came very close’ to hurting these people in these situations. Indeed, the
allegation that Jackson ‘actually came to plaintiff home and neighborhood’ and ‘pull[ed] up to plaintiff home’ does not constitute a claim for assault.”
They continue, “The alleged conduct—Jackson ‘came to plaintiff home and neighborhood’—took place over a year before this Action was commenced. Around late July or early August 2021, Plaintiff can’t remember exactly your honor, but defendant Jackson decided to come to plaintiff neighborhood, not once, but twice. This claim is thus untimely. The assault claim should therefore be dismissed for failure to state a claim because the First Amended Complaint is devoid of any allegations to support such a claim against Jackson.”
According to Holland’s initial lawsuit, Lionsgate Entertainment was aware of 50 Cent’s illegal activities and harmful behavior but still hired and allowed him to develop and produce Power.
Holland alleges that Jackson used the TV series to further intimidate and harm him, ultimately leading to the supposed intimidation campaign. Holland wants the $300 million in damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence in hiring and retention, among other charges. The lawsuit also seeks to prevent Lionsgate Entertainment from using Holland’s life story in the future.
