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Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson is pushing for more Black representation in the liquor industry amid his ongoing issues with Suntory Global Spirits.
On Wednesday, June 5, the multifaceted artist and attorney Ben Crump hit up Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. to speak to raise awareness about Black-owned liquor brands and their struggles within the competitive luxury spirits industry. 50 Cent took to Instagram to talk about his meeting with the Black Congressional Caucus amid his ongoing legal battle with Suntory Global Spirits, formerly known as Beam Suntory, over his products Branson Cognac and Le Chemin du Roi Brut Champagne.
"I’m off to DC 🛫to talk to the Congressional Black Caucus about how @suntoryglobalspirits has damaged my business," Fif wrote on Instagram.
“I am pleased to join the legal team representing Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson, as he is one of the most successful Black entrepreneurs in America, and even he is not immune to the bias treatment that faces minority business owners everyday,” Crump said in a statement. “He has been relentless in his fight to seek fairness and justice over the way he was treated by a corporate giant in the luxury spirits industry."
50 Cent first teased his trip to D.C. last month after he called out Beam Suntory for changing its name before they resolved the lawsuit Fif filed against them. Back in March, 50 Cent sued the alcoholic beverage company after they allegedly committed an embezzlement scheme that reportedly cost him $6 million. In the lawsuit, he claimed his cognac and champagne supplier overcharged his company Sire Spirits for the products and then split the profits.
"Because these illicit commissions were baked into the price of the product, Sire Spirits overpaid on taxes, overpaid on customs and duties, overpaid on insurance, which are marked towards the value of the product," Sire Spirits attorney Attorney Craig Weiner said. "Beam Suntory's role here is extraordinarily troubling. Beam Suntory's Chief Commercial Officer, a gentleman by the name of Julious Grant, acting as an employee, as an officer of the company, acting under the actual and parent authority of Beam Suntory facilitated the entire fraud as we plead in our complaint."
Suntory changed its name from Beam Suntory to Suntory Global Spirits back in April. Not long after the name change, 50 Cent hopped on Instagram and put the company on blast.
"Changing the company name from Beam Suntory to @SuntoryGlobalSpirits without correcting what was done to my brands @bransoncognac and @lecheminduroi doesn’t fix the problem and lacks honor," he wrote. "I attempted to resolve the matter, not once, but twice. Now the legal process will play out publicly for everyone to see what really happened and how @SuntoryGlobalSpirits would rather spend millions to protect and conceal criminal conduct instead of doing the right thing."
"Mr. Jackson’s journey has been a testament to how much a determined individual can succeed through hard work and vision, and yet he still must contend with the oppression that comes from being a minority business owner," Crump added. "We are committed to helping Mr. Jackson demonstrate the true “power” of not just his television acumen, but also the power of the consumers to make corporate America allow a seat at the table for hard-working Black entrepreneurs.”
See more scenes from 50 Cent's trip to Capitol Hill below.