Wednesday, Mar. 10, 2010

Fiddy and the Tacos

50 Cent's name does not come for free. The rapper, real name Curtis James Jackson III, slapped Taco Bell with a lawsuit in 2008, asking for $4 million in damages for using his name without permission. Hoping to drum up a little free publicity, the fast-food chain had sent a letter to news outlets nationwide jokingly asking 50 Cent to change his name to "79 Cent," "89 Cent" or "99 Cent" to promote their low-cost menu items. They neglected to send a letter to the rapper, but Jackson found out about the campaign after blogs started calling him a sellout for endorsing Taco Bell. The suit was settled in November 2009.