50 Cent has filed a lawsuit against Taco Bell. The superstar rapper says the fast-food giant used his name without permission in an advertising campaign when it issued a challenge for him to change his name for a day to either "79 Cents," "89 Cents" or "99 Cents" to match their menu prices.
In exchange for his compliance, Taco Bell promised to donate a mere $10,000 to the charity of Fiddy's choice. However, the suit argues that by dragging 50 Cent's name into the marketing stunt against his will, Taco Bell generated millions of dollars' worth of free publicity.
"As Taco Bell intended, many customers believed that 50 Cent had agreed to endorse Taco Bell's products," the lawsuit reads. "Indeed, postings on numerous Internet 'blogs' castigated 50 Cent for 'selling out' by his apparent endorsement of Taco Bell." A spokesman for the restaurant chain stated that the company ran the campaign in good faith and had always intended to donate the money to the charity of 50 Cent's choice
