50 Cent almost didn’t appear on Dr. Dre‘s legendary Super Bowl set in 2022 – and he claims JAY-Z‘s Roc Nation would have been the reason.
As the latest cover star of The Hollywood Reporter, 50 reflected on the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show — which also featured performances from Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige — and why he was never announced as part of it.
“[Roc Nation] wanted to leave me out of it. They didn’t want me there,” he alleged. “[But] Eminem wouldn’t do it without me. That’s how I ended up on the show because he was not coming if I didn’t do it. When that happens, you go, ‘Damn, so you just lost Eminem because you didn’t bring 50? Damn. All right. Bring 50 then.’
“But if it was up to them, they would not have me there. I’m the surprise. I’m not on the bill at all. But they couldn’t get Em to do it without me.”
50 Cent and JAY-Z have never been on the best of terms. As recently as earlier this year, Fif dragged Hov into his trolling campaign against Diddy as he battles multiple sexual assault lawsuits.
Posting on Instagram in May, 50 mocked Jay’s public silence over the Bad Boy boss’ legal troubles, accusing him of strategically laying low.
Alongside an unflattering close-up photo of the Roc Nation mogul, Fif wrote: “Jay in hibernation he ain’t coming outside till this shit with puff blow over, no brunch, no lunch, No dinner. LOL IM ALL YOU GOT IM OUTSIDE !”
50 was referencing JAY-Z canceling this year’s Roc Nation Brunch, which is held annually before the Grammy Awards and is typically attended by Diddy, among other A-list celebrities.
This is not the first time that 50 Cent has taken aim at JAY-Z over Diddy’s sexual assault allegations, all of which the Bad Boy Records founder denies.
Back in March, the G-Unit boss shared an image of a milk carton with Hov’s face edited onto its missing children’s ad slot.
“Anybody seen J? LOL. puff said the [ninja emoji] ain’t answering his phone. LOL,” he captioned the post, jokingly suggesting Jigga had gone ghost on his longtime friend in his time of need.
50 later uploaded a deepfake video from the film New Jack City, with the faces of actors Wesley Snipes and Ice-T altered slightly to represent Puffy and Hov, respectively.
He wrote underneath the courtroom clip: “This thing is bigger than Nino Brown. LOL New Jack Diddy.”
With his caption, the “In Da Club” rapper appeared to be implying that JAY-Z had some knowledge of Diddy’s alleged crimes of sexual assault and sex trafficking.
Jay has yet to comment on the allegations made against Diddy by various parties including his ex-girlfriend Cassie and The Love Album producer Lil Rod.