Power Executive Producer 50 Cent Threatens to Exit “Dumb Sh-t” Starz

50 Cent has never been known to mince words – and the rapper/producer/entrepeneur certainly isn’t doing so when it comes to renewing his deal with (what he calls) the “Dumb Sh-t” Starz network. 50 Cent (real name Curtis Jackson) aired his grievances with Starz (which is backed by Lionsgate studios) in a series of social media posts that take aim at the network. In one such post, Jackson used a .gif of a man stuffing a suitcase with the caption: 

“This is me packing my stuff, STARZ…. Sucks, my deal is up over here I’m out. They Renewed High town and FORCE is the highest rated show they have it sitting in limbo. If I told you how much dumb shit I deal with over here. 🤦‍♂️”

50 (real name Curtis Jackson) has been an instrumental figure in helping Starz build a lucrative content block through his G-Unit Film/TV venture. Jackson executive produced, co-starred in, and wrote music for the top-rated hit crime-drama series Power, which ran on Starz from 2014 – 2020. Power is now an entire franchise universe for Starz, which has produced three additional spinoff/sequel series (or “Books”) with one more on the way. The one 50 refers to in his rant, Power Book IV: Force, just started airing on Starz last month and premiered to bigger ratings than the finales of recent pop-culture hit TV series like Showtime’s Dexter: New Blood and Yelllowjackets, or HBO’s The White Lotus. Jackson is also the EP of Starz’s new crime-drama biopic series, BMF (Black Mafia Family), which also gained a lot of acclaim and popularity in its first season, earning a quick season 2 renewal.

According to THR’s sources Starz CEO Jeffrey Hirsch is trying to negotiate a new overall deal with 50 Cent, as their current agreement expires. There seems to be some discrepancy as to whether Jackson’s 2018 deal with Starz has technically been fulfilled (three series requirement – do the Power spinoffs count, etc…), but it’s also being reported that he’s being courted by other networks looking to move him away from Starz. 

However, Starz may not have favor in its corner: the cable network has been something of a rocky ship in the last few years, since Lionsgate acquired it and ousted former CEO Chris Albrecht. Many top creators working on Starz left, and the network’s choice to break form cable provider Comcast and go direct-to-consumer with its content has made it harder to access than most competitors. It is the strength of franchises like Power and the Outlander series that are keeping Starz in the running as a TV network. 50 Cent may not be a figure they can stand to lose. Last fall 50 went on a social media tirade when Starz dropped an episode of Power Book III he directed early before pulling it. Needless to say, Jackson doesn’t have the utmost faith in the network right now… 

Power Book IV: Force is streaming on Starz.