Rapper 50 Cent has filed a lawsuit for $1 million US against an advertising company for using his image in a promotion which he says threatens his safety.

According to court documents, the internet ad by Traffix Inc. features a cartoon image of the singer and the message: "shoot the rapper and you will WIN $5,000 or 5 RINGTONES GUARANTEED."

The user is invited to aim and fire at the rapper, who himself has been a victim of gun violence. Once a person is successful in killing the rapper, the screen is bathed in red and the user is directed to the Traffix website.

The lawsuit calls it a "vile, tasteless and despicable" use of 50 Cent's image that "quite literally calls for violence against" him. It says the ad was "completely unauthorized."

A lawyer for Traffix says he has no comment on the matter.

50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, was shot nine times in 2000 in a drive-by shooting near his grandmother's house.

The 32-year-old performer rose to fame with his multi-platinum selling records Get Rich or Die Tryin' in 2003 and The Massacre in 2005.

Born in the Queens borough of New York City, 50 Cent admits he began dealing drugs at age 12. He was discovered in 2000 by rapper Eminem after releasing his own tape, and signed onto Interscope Records.

In 2005, he starred in a movie based on his life, Get Rich or Die Tryin'.

 

With files from the Associated Press