Singer Teairra Mari Files Revenge Porn Suit In LA Against Rapper 50 Cent
WOODLAND HILLS (CBSLA/AP) – Singer Teairra Mari, a star of the show "Love & Hip Hop," has filed a revenge porn lawsuit against rapper 50 Cent and her ex-boyfriend, alleging they leaked an intimate photo and video of her online.
In a news conference Thursday at the Woodland Hills office of celebrity attorney Lisa Bloom, the 30-year-old Mari claimed that her ex-boyfriend, Akbar Abdul-Ahad, posted the photo and video to her own Instagram account after she ended their relationship last week. She said Abdul-Ahad was able to do so because he had her Instagram password.
She said the content was posted after she broke up with him for discovering he had cheated on her.
"Right after that, he posted a sex tape and obscene photo of me," Mari told reporters.
Mari also alleges that rapper 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, and is a friend of Abdul-Ahad, re-posted one of the obscene photos on his own Instagram account with the words, "Get the strap."
"Even after Instagram took the picture down, he had no remorse, no regard," Mari said.
Bloom said the lawsuit was being filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
"We will be seeking a significant punitive damages award against him (50 Cent)," Bloom said Thursday.
In July of 2015, a New York City jury ordered 50 Cent to pay $7 million in an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit to a woman who said the rapper posted online a sex tape which she made with a boyfriend back in 2008. The verdict prompted 50 Cent to file for bankruptcy protection.
"Less than three years later, 50 Cent is at it again, posting an explicit image of Teairra, with his caption, "get the strap," which encourages violence against her," Bloom said.
In response to the lawsuit, 50 Cent posted a second photo to his Instagram account Wednesday, this one showing him with Bloom's mother, attorney Gloria Allred. The post reads, "Oh Lisa stop, don't make me tell your mom. LOL." It ends with the words, "Get the strap."
The act of posting sexually explicit photos of former sex partners without their consent is a misdemeanor in California, and violators face up to six months in jail.
Abdul-Ahad has denied posting the photos and video.
"We do have a very significant piece of evidence that points to him, I'm not going to reveal what that is at this time," Bloom said. "But we have strong reason to believe it's him."
"I'm just devastated, I'm heartbroken, I loved this man," Mari added.
VH1 was also at Bloom's office, shooting the news conference for Mari's show.
"She's doing this to get a message out, to stand up for herself," Bloom said.
Last month, a U.S. district court in California ordered a man to pay $6.45 million in damages after he posted an ex-girlfriend's naked pictures and videos online.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
