NEWS
50 Cent is in the clear to start collecting after emerging victorious in a seven-figure lawsuit filed against his former Sires Spirits employee Mitchell Green.
Court records obtained by The New York Post claimed Green, the Brand Management Director at Le Chemin du Roi champagne, had been “embezzling” upwards of $2 million from the company until he was caught in 2020.
The champagne company, which translates to “The King’s Path,” was created in 2019 through 50 Cent’s brand Sire Spirits.
While the champagne already costs over $150 a bottle, Green had reportedly been inflating the prices and pocketing extra kickbacks from wholesalers that he claimed were “agency fees,” court documents show.
The court issued a final award of $6,194,293 in favor of Sire Spirits in October 2021, which included pre-judgment interest, attorney’s fees, arbitrator compensation and other fees.
Green challenged this ruling and tried to have the award vacated, but the court denied his request last June. The court then added on an additional $89,305.50 in attorney’s fees last November.
Per AllHipHop, the court demanded last week that Green pay a total of $6,283,598.50 in compensatory damages, plus pre-and post-judgment interest. If Green does not pay, 50 Cent reportedly plans to begin seizing his personal property and other assets.
Additionally, the Power mogul is also suing Michael Caruso, who reportedly concocted this scheme with Green by claiming to have a connection with the Taittinger champagne family, which proved to be fabricated. Per the original lawsuit, Caruso and his wife reportedly invoiced Green for their cut of the profit.
Sire Spirits are suing the Carusos, his employer Beam Suntory, and others for unspecified damages as well.
In other news, 50 Cent is also reportedly nearing a settlement with Remy Martin in relation to the pair’s lawsuit over the Branson Cognac bottle. The cognac brand had initially sued 50’s Jackson’s Sire Spirits in 2021 and accused the Branson Cognac bottle design of being a rip-off of Remy Martin’s Centaure de Diamant bottle.
According to multiple outlets, E. Remy Martin & Co claimed in a Manhattan court on February 3 that the Branson bottle was a “blatant attempt” to copy its X.O. design. The company described it as “nearly indistinguishable” from Remy Martin’s bottle, and called it a “near exact reproduction.”
50 Cent had previously commented on the allegations in a since-deleted Instagram post, claiming that Remy Martin was just jealous of Branson’s successes.
“They are afraid of me already,” Fif wrote. “Branson Cognac is the new wave. REMY is #2 Behind Henny and worried about Branson SMH I’m just getting started.”
Lizzo has made it clear that she never abandoned her album Love in Real Life.
The “Juice” artist recently responded to rumors that the project had been cancelled after fans expected it to arrive last year. Rather than putting out the album at the time, Lizzo instead released the mixtape My Face Hurts From Smiling in June.
During a new conversation with Billboard, the “Truth Hurts” singer explained that the album itself was never scrapped and is still the same body of work she plans to release on June 5 under its new title, B**ch.
“I think the biggest misconception about my album is that I shelved Love in Real Life when I didn't,” she said. “(B**ch) is technically the same album. I just changed the name. The music is the same.”
Lizzo shared that the main difference between the earlier version of the project and the upcoming release was taking away the original title track, which eventually led to the album being renamed.
“When you change the name of something, it changes its destiny,” the singer explained. “Like, when I went from Melissa to Lizzo, it changed my destiny.”
“When this album went from Love in Real Life to Bch, it changed the trajectory of its past,” she continued. “I do think that I feel like I can express myself the way that I want to express myself right now through Bch. I think Love in Real Life was really sombre and a little bit more introspective, and I think B**ch is a little bit more empowered and self actualised and bold.”
Before the newly titled album arrives, Lizzo has already released the singles B**ch and Don’t Make Me Love U.
The artist had previously spoken about stepping away from Love in Real Life during an earlier interview with Vulture, saying the project “just wasn't what I was feeling right now”.
She also mentioned that much of the album had originally been written back in 2022.
“By 2025, I've changed, the world has changed so much, and so much has happened,” she said. “I was like, ‘I need to do s**t differently, and I don't know what it is, but I'm going to just start following my instincts.’”
