Injured Concertgoer Fights for Damages in 50 Cent’s Bankruptcy

A lawsuit that accused 50 Cent of unfairly bolstering his tough-guy image by starting a fight at a 2004 concert in Massachusetts has surfaced in his bankruptcy.

Dorothy DeJesus, a Northampton, Mass., resident who was punched in the face during the fight, asked a federal judge to make sure the 40-year-old rapper doesn’t use bankruptcy to get out of paying her at least $25,000 in damages.

Ms. DeJesus was injured during 50 Cent’s surprise performance at a hip-hop concert on May 7, 2004, at the Hippodrome Theater in Springfield, Mass., according to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Hartford, Conn.

Angered by an audience member who threw “some liquid” on stage, 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, took off his hat and jumped into the crowd, court papers said. His entourage followed.

“Thereafter, a melee ensued, and audience members, performers and entourage members physically scrambled in skirmish while the concert continued,” Ms. DeJesus’s lawyer said in court papers.

Amid the chaos, Ms. DeJesus said she was punched in the face by Mr. Jackson and temporarily passed out. Mr. Jackson denied wrongdoing in the 2007 lawsuit that followed.

In the lawsuit, Ms. DeJesus said she sued Mr. Jackson despite worrying that she would “be harmed or killed” for appearing in court against him.

“Because the neighborhood in which she grew up fosters a philosophy that ‘snitching’ usually results in fatal retribution, she has nightmares that Jackson is chasing her,” court papers said.

Judge Peter Velis awarded Ms. DeJesus $25,000 in damages. In 2010, he wrote:

“One should be able to attend a concert without having to fear being assaulted by the entertainers. Moreover, even if someone from the crowd threw water or some other sort of liquid onto Jackson prior to the events at issue, that is not an excuse for him to set off a riotous melee in which he punches a girl in the face, encourages his entourage to fight the audience and generally causes a chaotic, violence scene. His actions were beyond the bounds of decency and are intolerable in a civilized community.”

Mr. Jackson was also told to pay $25,000 to Candace Scott, a Springfield, Mass., resident who was kicked in the eye during the fight and sued on similar grounds.

The two women appealed the award from Judge Velis, arguing that Mr. Jackson should pay additional damages for the profits he got from the image boost after the fight, their lawyer, Michael Malkovich, told Bankruptcy Beat.

Mr. Jackson filed for bankruptcy on July 13, blaming his financial troubles on two multimillion-dollar judgments, including a $7 million award to Lastonia Leviston, who accused him of posting a sex tape of her online as part of a rap war with her now-ex-boyfriend Rick Ross.

Bankruptcy court gives people the opportunity to easily cancel certain debts like credit-card bills. But U.S. bankruptcy law makes exceptions for obligations including child-support payments, student loans and debt racked up “for willful and malicious injury” caused to someone else or their property.

That last reason, Mr. Malkovich argued, is why Mr. Jackson should still pay the damages once his bankruptcy concludes.

Bankruptcy Beat reached out to Mr. Jackson’s lawyers for comment on the requests from Ms. DeJesus and Ms. Scott, but they did not immediately respond. The women’s requests will be handled by Judge Ann Nevins.

Mr. Jackson appeared on the music scene in 2003 with hit rap song “In Da Club.” He has sold more than 22 million albums and appears in the boxing drama “Southpaw,” which is showing in movie theaters. His Farmington, Conn., mansion, once owned by boxer Mike Tyson, is reported to have 21 bedrooms, a racquetball court, a home-movie theater and an eight-car garage.

Write to Katy Stech at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @KatyStech