Entertainer 50 Cent has asked the judge in his bankruptcy case to allow him to keep the amount he is paid for endorsing Effen Vodka away from public view.
He said that contract has a confidentiality provision, and if how much he is paid by the Dutch company becomes public, other entertainers could offer to endorse the liquor for less.
“That contract is one of the significant ways that the debtor intends to pay back his creditors, and that contract must be protected so that the income stream that it generates for the debtor is preserved,” the lawyers for Curtis J. Jackson III wrote in a filing in the case.
It isn’t clear whether the endorsement pay is part of the $184,000 a month in income that Jackson previously filed in the case, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Hartford. Those filings show that his entertainment business ventures net him $163,700 a month, including $216,000 a month from his company Tomorrow Today Entertainment; losses totaling $97,000 a month on G-Unit Records, which he lists as his employer; a gain of $24,000 a month from G-Unit Touring; and a gain of $19,000 a month from G-Unit Film & TV.
Separately, Sleek Audio, Jackson’s biggest unsecured creditor, which won an $18 million court settlement against him, is contesting the hiring of GSO Business Management for financial advice and accounting.
Sleek said it doesn’t object to the $30,000 monthly fee, but rather that Jackson says GSO’s billings should not be under bankruptcy court scrutiny because they will be paid by G-Unit Records, not by the estate or Jackson himself. But Sleek notes that G-Unit pays Jackson, making the fee material to the case.
Lastonia Leviston, who just won a $7 million jury award against the actor/rapper, joined Sleek Audio’s objection on Friday.
Jackson said in a hearing that he is seeking to lease his 51-room Farmington mansion, which he lists as his residence and has been unable to sell, to raise money.
