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50 Cent said he turned down millions of dollars to appear at Donald Trump’s controversial New York rally because he’s “afraid of politics.”
During an appearance on a new episode of The Breakfast Club podcast, the “Candy Shop” rapper, 49, addressed rumors that he had been asked to do a paid endorsement for the Trump campaign.
“I got a call, but they wanted me for Sunday,” said the New York native, who previously endorsed the former president in 2020.
“I didn’t talk to them about that kinda stuff,” 50 Cent said, adding: “I’m afraid about politics.”
Claiming that “they offered $3m to do it,” he said that he had also been offered a similar amount to perform his 2003 hit “Many Men (Wish Death)” at the July Republican National Convention.
The song, which is from his debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin’, is about the rapper’s 2000 shooting. It has since become an anthem for Trump and his supporters after the first assassination attempt on Trump’s life in July.
The Independent has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
“I didn’t even go far into it,” the “In Da Club” rapper said. “I didn’t even want to talk to them about that kinda stuff. I’m afraid of politics. I do not like no part of politics. It’s no gangbanging and no politics.”
He explained: “It’s because when you do get involved in it, no matter how you feel there will also be someone who passionately disagrees with you. I stay away from religion and politics.
“That’s the formula for the confusion that sent Kanye to Japan. He said something about both of those things and now he can only go to Japan,” 50 Cent added, referring to Kanye West, who years ago “exiled” himself to Japan after infamously crashing Taylor Swift’s 2009 MTV Video Music Awards speech.
In recent weeks, West has again been spotted living and working in Japan with his wife Bianca Censori, amid reports that the pair are headed for divorce.
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Over the weekend, Trump hosted a rally at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. There, a long list of Trump allies hurled insults and racist comments at their political opponents.
They labeled Kamala Harris “the antichrist” and “the devil” and lamented “f***ing illegals,” while Tucker Carlson joked that Trump’s Democratic rival – a Black and Indian-American woman – is “the first Samoan, Malaysian, low IQ” presidential nominee.
Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe also sparked backlash when he insultingly likened Puerto Rico to a “pile of garbage.”
“There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now,” Hinchcliffe said. “I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
