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Taco Bell, 50 Cent settle lawsuit
November 23, 2009
Rapper 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, has settled his lawsuit he filed last year against Yum! Brands' Taco Bell, according to the New York Post.
Jackson filed suit last June claiming trademark infringement after Taco Bell president Greg Creed wrote a tongue-in-cheek, open letter to Jackson inviting him to change his name to 79 Cent, 89 Cent or 99 Cent for one day to promote the chain's Why Pay More value menu. Creed also asked Jackson to rap an order at a Taco Bell drive-thru window and said the company would send $10,000 to Jackson's favorite charity.
Jackson took issue with the request because the company used his name and trademark without his permission when they sent the letter to the press without seeking his input first.
Taco Bell responded to the suit last fall with an attack on Jackson, calling him a common street thug.
Jackson had sought $4 million in damages, but neither side revealed the details of the settlement, according to the Post. Each also paid their own legal fees.
This is not the first time a Yum! Brands company has ruffled feathers with a publicity stunt. Last month, KFC's Colonel Sanders mascot was involved in an incident at the United Nations headquarters in which a security guard inappropriately allowed him access to A. Treki of Libya, the General Assembly's president. The U.N. is reviewing the incident as a security breach, and KFC has apologized.
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