Queens, New York-bred recording artist turned television producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is routinely stepping in to advocate for actors who aren’t being paid properly. 50 Cent hired actress Mo’Nique after she claimed she was blackballed for going public with industry critiques. This year, he embraced Empire actress Taraji P. Henson after she revealed the income disparity between her and white actresses. 50 has now vowed to help Henson’s costar, Terrence Howard.
The “Hustle & Flow” actor has expressed disappointment in being poorly paid as a Black actor in Hollywood. Last year, during an interview with WREG’s Live at 9, the actor revealed his surprisingly low salary while playing DJay, the main character in the film Hustle & Flow. He walked away with a full payment of $12,000 for the movie.
In the resurfaced clip appearing on 50 Cent’s X (formerly Twitter) account, he also told the host that he has made no money from the songs he recorded for the film.
“What Paramount did, instead of putting my name as ‘Terrence Howard’ performing the songs, they put ‘performed by Djay.’ Well, they owned Djay. So now I’ve gotta sue Paramount or send them a letter to say, ‘Hey, you guys owe me about 20 years’ worth of residuals and performance royalties.’”
This sh*t hurt my stomach to hear @terrencehoward say this. Fvck em I need the best actors and I’m gonna pay them. @tarajiphenson you cool with @maryjblige ask her, she got a BIG FVCKIN BAG.GLGGREENLIGHTGANG My young boy’s @michaelraineyjr , @mekaicurtis , @LilMeechBMF… pic.twitter.com/4fejvofBwY
— 50cent (@50cent) February 15, 2024
50 Cent seems determined to ensure that Howard gets paid according to his acting talent. His track record would suggest that if anyone can get the job done, he can.
In 2020, Howard filed a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox for using his likeness from “Hustle & Flow” to help promote the “Empire” series, in which he starred for six seasons.
Source: Black Enterprise
