June 6, 2024
Spirited Duo: 50 Cent And Ben Crump Hit Capitol Hill To Advocate For Black Representation In Luxury Spirits Industry
50 Cent and Ben Crump visited Capitol Hill to advocate for more Black representation in the luxury spirits industry.
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and civil rights attorney Ben Crump met with Democrat and Republican members of Congress on Wednesday, June 5, to advocate for more Black representation in the luxury spirits industry.
The hip-hop mogul took his legal battle against Suntory Global Spirits to Washington, D.C., where he met with Congressional leaders at the Rayburn House Office Building to discuss the wealth gap in the spirits industry. With a goal of increasing Black ownership in luxury spirits, 50 Cent had meetings with both sides of the aisle to generate support for his cause, The Hill reports.
“This is really exciting for me. I got a chance to meet with both sides today, and it feels really good,” he said. “They don’t agree on a lot of stuff, and so to get them to agree on seeing me was an accomplishment in itself.”
50 Cent continued. “My experience here has been great. I went to talk to them about economic opportunities for everybody, and it’s really exciting. The response I got makes me feel that there’s bright days ahead of us.”
Crump cited 50’s business success as an example of how he will help expand Black representation in the spirits industry.
“Mr. Jackson is one of the most successful Black entrepreneurs in America,” Crump said. “We’re here today to talk about how he’s trying to knock down barriers of equal access and equal opportunity to have a seat at the table in all industries.”
The G-Unit rapper’s day on Capitol Hill follows his ongoing legal fight against Suntory Global Spirits. He accuses the company of an embezzlement scheme that cost him millions of dollars. 50 made his intention for meeting with Congress clear when he announced his day in the nation’s capital on X and sent a warning to Suntory Global.
I’m off to DC 🛫to talk to the Congressional Black Caucus about how @SuntoryGlobal has damaged my business. #TheyLackHonor pic.twitter.com/6WINEMgvU3
— 50cent (@50cent) June 5, 2024
“You can change your name from Beam Suntory to Suntory Global Spirits but you still robbed him 🤷🏽♂️I just want mines,” he wrote in a follow-up tweet. “Tell your friends in your DISCUS meeting, you haven’t been under compliance at all.”
But 50 Cent’s visit to D.C. garnered controversy after he told one reporter that he believes Black men are “identifying with [Donald] Trump” ahead of the presidential election “because they got RICO charges.”
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