Shaniqua Tompkins Claims She Was Coerced Into Signing Life Rights Deal With 50 Cent’s Publishing Company

Shaniqua Tompkins is fighting back against a lawsuit filed by G-Unit Books, alleging she was forced under duress to sign away the rights to her life story more than a decade ago.

The lawsuit, filed in July 2025 by the publishing company founded by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, centers on a series of videos Tompkins posted online in 2023 and 2025. In those videos, she discussed her past relationship with Jackson, which began before his rise to fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

One YouTube video posted in June 2025 drew particular attention. In it, Tompkins accused Jackson of physically and verbally abusing her during her pregnancy with their son, Marquise, and throughout their relationship. She also suggested Jackson may have been involved in a 2008 fire that destroyed her Long Island home, which she says he was attempting to evict her from at the time.

G-Unit Books argues that Tompkins’ statements violate a 2007 Life Rights Agreement that allegedly grants the company exclusive control over her life story, name, and likeness. The publisher is seeking $1 million in damages, along with interest and legal fees, and has requested a permanent injunction to prevent further public disclosures.

In a sworn affidavit obtained by AllHipHop, Tompkins claims the agreement was never entered into willingly. She states she was financially dependent on Jackson at the time and alleges he deliberately pushed her out of a real estate investment business to increase that dependence and pressure her into signing the deal.

According to Tompkins, the late music executive Chris Lighty—who managed Jackson until his death in 2012—acted as an intermediary during the process. She claims Lighty appeared at her Las Vegas hotel room with a man she believed to be a bodyguard and told her the agreement was “non-negotiable.”

In her filing, Tompkins alleges Lighty warned she would face “severe consequences” if she refused to sign. She says she feared for her own safety and for her children’s lives, and ultimately signed the agreement under what she describes as extreme duress.

Tompkins also disputes the financial terms of the deal. While the agreement allegedly promised her $80,000, she claims she received only $35,000 and that G-Unit Books failed to uphold its end of the contract.

In December 2025, attorneys for G-Unit Books sought a default judgment in New York federal court after Tompkins initially failed to respond to the lawsuit by the September deadline. The legal battle now hinges on whether the 2007 agreement is enforceable or void due to the circumstances under which Tompkins says it was signed.

At the time of filing, Jackson’s attorney, Reena Jain, said he purchased the rights to preserve them for future projects and out of concern that Tompkins would attempt to profit from their shared history—concerns she now says are being used to silence her.

Source: Vibe