No Quiero Taco Bell! - 50 Cent Sues Taco Bell Over 99 Cent Campaign
50 Cent is not enthused with Taco Bell's recent advertising campaign which asked the rapper to call himself 99 cent for the day. According to recent reports 50 is not laughing and is now asking the fast food giant for $4 million in damages. In a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday, 50 Cent says the Mexican-themed chain features him in a print ad without permission, asking him to change his name to 79 cent, 89 cent or 99 cent. The rapper's court papers say the ad is part of Taco Bell's "Why Pay More?" campaign, which promotes items for under a dollar, including Cinnamon Twists for 79 cents, Crunchy Tacos for 89 cents and Bean Burritos for 99 cents. The papers say the Irvine, Calif.-based company sent a bogus letter requesting the name change to the news media but not to the rapper. The rapper's lawyer, Peter D. Raymond, said his client didn't learn about the letter or that he was featured in the ad campaign until he saw a news report about it. Taco Bell Corp. spokesman Rob Poetsch issued a statement saying: "We made a good faith, charitable offer to 50 Cent to change his name to either 79, 89 or 99 Cent for one day by rapping his order at a Taco Bell, and we would have been very pleased to make the $10,000 donation to the charity of his choice."