50 Cent has said that he deliberately became “enemies” with Oprah Winfrey after she condemned his lyrics on her US talk show.
In his new book, Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter, the rapper recalls wanting to be on Winfrey’s show when he first came to fame, to prove to his grandmother that he had achieved greatness.
Winfrey, however, publicly slammed him, calling his lyrics “misogynist” and accusing him of glorifying gun violence.
“She was completely against everything that was in my music,” Jackson told The Guardian. “So she ain’t never going to have me on that show. I’m never going to reach that platform, which is confirmation of you being a huge success. So I just said: OK, if we can’t be friends, then at least let’s be enemies.”
As a result, Jackson named his dog after the veteran star, and told the press that her fans were exclusively elderly white women.
Jackson said that the pair later became friendly, but that he never agreed with Winfrey’s condemnation of his lyrics.
“They are misogynistic, but the world is not under the same circumstances,” Jackson explained. “Are you going to tell a painter what to paint? I’m an artist. Why am I limited to what you feel should be said? In film and television, they will show art imitates life. Are you not aware of those situations taking place?”
In December, Jackson slammed Winfrey on his Instagram, claiming that the star “goes after black men” after her public endorsements into sexual assault allegations against Michael Jackson and Russell Simmons.
“I don’t understand why Oprah is going after black men,” he wrote. “No Harvey Weinstein, no Epstein, just Michael Jackson and Russell Simmons, this s*** is sad. These documentaries are publicly convicting their targets, it makes them guilty till proven innocent.”
