U.S. rapper and hip-hop mogul 50 Cent sued Taco Bell on Wednesday, saying the restaurant chain made him the star of its hip-hop themed ad campaign without his permission and without paying him a fee.

50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, accuses the Mexican-style fast food chain of “diluting the value of his good name” and employing a guerrilla advertising campaign to fool consumers into thinking he had endorsed the chain, said the lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court.

“Without seeking or obtaining Jackson’s authorization, defendant Taco Bell made him the star and focus of its nation-wide advertising campaign by using his name, persona and trademark to promote Taco Bell’s business and products,” court papers said.

A spokesperson for Yum! Brands, which operates Taco Bell, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit accuses the chain of disseminating a letter, addressed to 50 Cent, that encourages the rapper to change his name to “79 Cent,” “89 Cent” or “99 Cent,” the lawsuit said.

The letter was designed to promote the company’s “79-89-99 Cent Why Pay More” campaign, while avoiding the multimillion dollar fee the rapper might have charged to use his name, the lawsuit said.

The letter was eventually sent to the rapper, but only after it had been circulated to reporters, the lawsuit said.

“As Taco Bell intended, many customers believed that 50 Cent had agreed to endorse Taco Bell’s products. Indeed, postings on numerous Internet ‘blogs’ castigated 50 Cent for ’selling out’ by his apparent endorsement of Taco Bell,” the lawsuit said.

Since his debut album in 2003, 50 Cent has built a business with a record label, a clothing and footwear line, ringtones and video games. He has also starred in a movie based on his life, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.”

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50 Cent is planning a musical collaboration with actor and new best friend Val Kilmer.

The pair became firm pals on the set of new prison movie Felon; with the rapper rumored to have given Kilmer a $100,000 car as a gift. And the Batman Forever star reveals they are planning to hit the studio together.

He says, “I don’t think he’s going to produce a song, but he really likes one of my songs. I told him my idea for it and he wants to help. He’s officially my new friend.”

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WENN

50 Cent has branded his current feud with his ex Shaniqua Tompkins his “toughest” challenge to date – because their strained relationship is having a negative affect on their young son.

The rapper and his former lover have been battling in court after 50 Cent’s home in Long Island, New York – where Tompkins and 11-year-old Marquise had been residing – was destroyed in May in what police have called a “suspicious” fire.

He’s suing Tompkins for defamation after she accused him of starting the blaze.

She was recently granted a restraining order against her ex, preventing the star from being on the same premises as her.

But, while the court order does not stop 50 Cent from seeing their son, he insists it has put Marquise in a difficult situation – because the boy doesn’t want to upset his mom by spending time with his dad.

50 Cent tells MTV.com, “I think he doesn’t want his mom to feel like he’s a traitor. …The time I spent away is the time he developed this thing he’s afraid to break with her. There’s nothing you can do about that. This is the toughest (thing I’ve had to face), because he’s my motivation.”

And the hip-hop superstar is sad his son won’t be joining him on tour this summer because of the custody situation: “In the summertime, for the first two years I was successful, my son has travelled with us on those tours. He was on the Rock the Mic Tour; he was on the Anger Management Tour. This summer, when he’s free, it’s, like, no communication. It’s tough. I’m not going through a custody battle; just a transition. I’d like to be able to just see my baby.”

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A judge has ordered 50 Cent to surrender any guns he owns as part of a temporary restraining order issued against him by his ex-girlfriend.

On Friday the rapper’s ’s lawyer said that he plans to contest the order and insists 50 (a.k.a. Curtis Jackson) does not have access to guns, and never did. “To my knowledge, he has no guns,” attorney Brett Kimmel said on Friday.

The judge’s order forbids 50 Cent from being in contact with Shaniqua Tompkins, the mother of his 10-year old son, without the court’s permission.

“Fiddy” and Tomkins have been locked in a legal fight over money–Tomkins wants half of the rapper’s estate, claiming the two made an oral agreement.

The dispute got ugly last month after a fire destroyed 50’s $2.4. million Long Island home, where Tomkins lived with their son.

The rapper denies any involvement in the fire and has filed a $20 million defamation suit against his ex-girlfriend for statements she made to the media.

“It’s completely baseless and it’s retaliatory,” Tompkins’ lawyer, Paul Catsandonis, said of the defamation suit. “It’s nothing more than an attempt to rehabilitate his image.”

Since his debut album in 2003, 50 Cent has built a business with a record label, a clothing and footwear line, ringtones and video games. He has also starred in a movie based on his life, Get Rich or Die Tryin’.

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WENN

50 Cent is to sue his ex-girlfriend for defamation after she accused him of causing the fire that burned down her New York home.

50 has been locked in a bitter court battle with Shaniqua Tompkins, the mother of his 11-year-old son Marquise, for months, after he tried to evict them from the Long Island mansion he owns.

The property went up in flames last month in what police have called a “highly suspicious” inferno. Tompkins later alleged the rapper had started the fire himself in a bid to force her and their son out of the house.

Shortly after the blaze, she told the press: “He tried to kill me and his own child. I know this came from 50 Cent.”

But 50 Cent has slammed the claims, and his lawyers are now preparing a defamation complaint against Tompkins, reports the New York Daily News.

His attorney Brett Kimmel says, “There comes a point where you can no longer sit on your hands and listen to her spread these falsehoods. Besides hurting his reputation, they have a damaging impact on their son.”

The star also claims Tompkins has refused him access to Marquise since the fire – while calling 50 a bad father for failing to get in touch with the boy.

In a petition filed in Suffolk County Family court, 50 alleges Tompkins has “made it practically impossible” for him to contact his son, by not notifying him of where they were staying.

And, when 50 learned Marquise’s cell phone had been destroyed in the accident, he sent a new one for his son, along with a bag of new clothes.

However, he claims Tompkins has “failed and refused to give the cell phone to Marquise. The only way (50) can communicate with his son is to call (Tompkins’) cell phone.”

The legal papers state Tompkins’ behavior is a “willful violation” of their custody agreement and the rapper is requesting a judge allow him access to his son.

50’s attorney is due to argue the case in court on Friday. The star will not be in attendance for the court hearing as he is currently on location in Louisiana for new movie Microwave Park.

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WENN

50 Cent has turned set photos he took while making war film Home of the Brave with Samuel L. Jackson into the backdrop for an intense new video game.

The rapper was struck by the war-torn setting of the location in Morocco and took shots he handed over to game director Aaron Blean when he was creating 50’s new battle video, Blood On The Sand.

50 tells King magazine, “Some of my experiences while filming in Morocco really stuck with me. When you think of Morocco, you think of belly dancers and s**t, but it wasn’t anything like that. The area we were in was war-torn. I took a lot of photos, and I ended up giving them to the (video game) developers.”

50 Cent and his G-Unit labelmates will appear as soldiers in the new video game.

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WENN

50 Cent’s ex-girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins has been ordered to pay $4,500 in unpaid rent on the charred remains of the rapper’s New York home.

The Long Island estate, which is owned by 50 Cent and was occupied by his former lover Tompkins and their 10-year-old son Marquise, was set ablaze last month in what New York cops have called a “highly suspicious” inferno. Tompkins later accused the rapper, real name Curtis Jackson, of starting the fire himself – allegations he has vehemently denied.

The home has been at the centre of a bitter dispute between the former couple since April’s ruling that she and Marquise must leave the rapper’s mansion by the end of 2008.

Lawyers for the two parties appeared at Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday for a hearing in relation to Tompkins’ $50 million breach of contract suit against the In Da Club star.

But after hearing how Tompkins has been withholding her rent from the star since May, Justice Carol Edmead ruled she must hand over the cash in full – setting the deadline for Friday, reports the New York Post.

She told Tompkins’ attorney, Paul Catsandonis: “She better pay it by the end of the week. Do you understand?”

Catsandonis tried unsuccessfully to get an extension on the deadline – claiming it was a time of “undue hardship” for her after losing her home in the blaze.

Tompkins told the court: “We lost everything. All we have is the clothes we jumped out of the window with.”

But 50 Cent’s lawyer Brett Kimmel revealed his client has been paying Tompkins $6,700 a month in child support – which includes $4,500 to rent a new place to live – something Tompkins has failed to do.

In the same hearing, the rapper was told not to sell the remains of his property until investigators have found the cause of the fire.

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WENN