‘They wanted to leave me out of it. They didn’t want me there’

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson Photo credit Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images

According to 50 Cent, the rapper was almost cut out of the massive 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show which also included Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, and Dr. Dre.

While sitting down (on a huge pile of cash, of course) with The Hollywood Reporter for a wide-ranging interview for their latest cover story, Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson revealed that he was almost nixed from the 2022 Super Bowl festivities, claiming JAY-Z‘s Roc Nation attempted to keep him off the bill.

“They wanted to leave me out of it. They didn’t want me there,” 50 claims. That plan was apparently squashed when, “Eminem wouldn’t do it without me,” he says. “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’s verbal shots at the Carter family didn’t end there. When asked about the GRAMMYs, he said the awards themselves held “zero value” and claimed that Beyoncé‘s 32 total wins (which solidified her in 2023 as the artist with the most GRAMMY wins ever,) were the result of an inside job. “I don’t know who’s voting in that s***,” he said. “It’s crazy. Whoever they are, they’re off at Beyoncé’s house because she has 30 of them.”

Looking ahead, 50’s G-Unit Film and Television company has a number of projects currently in development for Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and BET, including a series based on 2002’s 8 Mile with Eminem. “50 is like a brother to me,” says Eminem in the THR interview. “50 has proven again and again that there’s really nothing he can’t do, and nobody gets in the way of him getting it done.”