Why 50 Cent rejected $3m offer to perform at Trump rally

It turns out 50 Cent, aka Curtis Jackson, was among the “Many Men” to have been offered an active role of participation in Donald Trump’s sold-out Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday. The “In da Club” rapper was reportedly enticed with a $3 million offer to perform at an already celebrity-packed event.
Cent’s iconic 2003 track “Many Men (Wish Death)” considerably blew up on the charts again over two decades later, as the former president survived the July 13 Butler rally assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. The American rapper-actor went on to pay a bizarre tribute to Trump that month, as he also performed the song that speaks of his own near-death experiences for a live audience in Boston.
Despite going to great lengths to boost the Republican presidential hopeful’s name in the weirdest ways possible, 50 Cent attained viral popularity online. However, he still turned down the chance to be at the MSG rally in New York City on October 27, just as the offer to be present at the Republican National Convention in July.
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Sitting down for an interview with The Breakfast Club, the musician was asked if his help had been enlisted through rapper money for Trump endorsements at these public events. 50 Cent then confirmed, “ I got a call,” he said of the October 27 rally. “But they wanted me [for] Sunday.” He also affirmed that he was offered $3 million for the gig. The interview hit the Internet two days after Trump’s rally took a majorly controversial turn, with multiple guest speakers resorting to misogynistic, racist and vulgar jokes. Host DJ Envy also ended up asking him if he was reached out to perform the 2003 hit track at the Republican National Convention, held days after Trump’s first assassination attempt. Although he nodded along to the assumption, he did not disclose the paycheck Trump’s team purportedly offered him for the RNC gig.
Despite Cent visibly being in Trump’s corner, the rapper ultimately turned down the calls to perform at political events associated with the presidential nominee over his apolitical stance. “I’m afraid about politics,” he admitted. The 49-year-old rapper then explained his point of view, citing Kanye West’s example. “It’s because when you do get involved in it, no matter how you feel, someone passionately disagrees with you.”
“That’s the formula for the confusion that sent Kanye [West] to Japan,” Cent added. “He said something about both of those things – and now he can only go to Japan.”
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Alluding to the controversial rapper’s sightings in Japan, 50 Cent harked back to how West’s extreme views on the political trail got him banned from performing in some US venues. Even though the “Vultures” album-maker unlocked his listening parties in the US in early 2024, West has mostly been active on the Asian track, performing in China, South Korea and more. He has been holed up in Japan ever since.
Even if fans probably missed out on Cent’s collaboration with Trump on the political stage, he will be unleashing his Las Vegas residency this New Year with a six-date schedule at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on December 27, 28, 30 and 31, as well as January 3 and 4.