Related: ‘W.A.G.s to Riches’ Couples Status Check: Who Is Together and Who Broke Up?
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How W.A.G.s to Riches Mentioned Lawsuit Against 50 Cent Over a Sex Tape
Netflix’s W.A.G.s to Riches was about the wives, girlfriends and former partners of professional athletes and rappers — yet somehow 50 Cent‘s past legal issues due to a leaked sex tape quickly took center stage.
The lawsuit made headlines amid 50 Cent’s (real name Curtis Jackson III) feud with Lastonia “Stoni” Leviston‘s ex Rick Ross. A 13-minute video appeared online in 2009 with 50 Cent — in a wig — narrating the tape. A jury ordered the rapper in 2015 to pay $5 million to Stoni after allegedly acquiring the video from her ex-boyfriend Maurice Murray.
“This was something done to me,” she testified at the time. “I didn’t have a choice. I would never, ever do this to myself.”
Attorney William A. Brewer III said 50 Cent and his legal team were “disappointed in the verdict but very appreciative of the service of the jury and the court.” (A rep for 50 Cent didn’t respond about the resurfaced allegations in the Netflix reality show.)
“Our client intends to file post-verdict, pre-judgment motions which we believe should reduce the size of the award,” the statement to Us Weekly continued. “Ultimately, the fate of any obligation to pay a final judgment will be determined by the bankruptcy court.”
Stoni got the chance to elaborate on Netflix’s W.A.G.s to Riches, which was released in January 2025.
“In the height of the breakup, the beef started with Rick and 50 Cent. Long story short, my ex — the guy that was in the sex tape — he is bitter so he goes and sells the tape to 50 Cent,” she claimed in the first episode. “Then 50 Cent released it on ThisIs50. It is petty and it still haunts me to this day.”
Keep scrolling for a guide to every mention on the show of 50 Cent and the legal issues:
At Odds Because of Her Past
During the series premiere, Stoni said she thought her leaked sex tape contributed to distance between her and her costars. (W.A.G.s to Riches also stars Sharelle Rosado, Maranda Johnson, Ashley Wheeler, Alexis Welch Stoudemire, Porsha Berto, Sadé Vanessa, Keeta Hill and Julz Goddard.)
“So things happened that Rick isn’t so happy about. The sex tape,” she explained. “I was dating this guy a long, long time ago — after I ended my relationship with Rick Ross. He was into videotaping me and he didn’t even really ask. He would just pull it out. Never once in my brain did I think I would have sex with him on tape. I didn’t feel unsafe at the time. I felt like I was happy.”
Stoni revealed what led to the sex tape being exposed. “I did the tape. Things got rocky, he started cheating and I outed him to the other girl. He got upset about it. We broke up,” she continued about how the video allegedly ended up in 50 Cent’s possession.
The reality star got emotional about the “leniency” she wished was extended to her by her costars.
“I was collateral damage in a beef I had nothing to do with,” Stoni noted. “In that second, my whole life changed. The minute the tape was released, nothing was the same. I became suicidal and I didn’t want to live anymore. I felt like I was damaged goods. Like no man would ever love me again. I felt like I let my kids down tremendously.”
The Lawsuit
50 Cent, who filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015 after the initial verdict, was ordered by a New York City jury to pay $2 million in punitive damages to Stoni. The amount was discussed multiple times on W.A.G.s to Riches.
“Allegedly, she sued 50 Cent,” Sharelle told the cameras. “If I sued 50 Cent and I got a couple of million of dollars, I am not going to be standing up under my baby daddy. I would take that money and buy my own house because as a woman, I don’t ever want to have to depend on a man. Girl, you are a whole senior citizen and nothing has changed.”
Stoni, meanwhile, defended her monetary issues, which stemmed from her attempts to open a boutique.
“I didn’t have anything given to me. The money that they said I lost was all mine,” she shared. “It wasn’t from my football boyfriend or my basketball husband. If I took it and threw it all in the toilet or if I wanted to go buy 10 cars, it was my money and I did what I wanted to do with her.”
According to The Washington Post, 50 Cent accused Ross in another lawsuit that same year of being responsible for leaking the full video online first. Ross’ lawyer called that suit a “desperate” attempt to “avoid and deflect legal and financial responsibility.”
Rumor on the Street
According to Sharelle, some of the words others used to describe Stoni include “porn star and escort.”
“What frustrates me is she has had more money than the rest of us. She won a big lawsuit from 50 Cent, and she just blew it trying to impress other people,” Sharelle said. “She hangs around the wrong people, and she’s the oldest out of all of us. It is harder to change older people. I am not going to try to waste my time and breath trying to raise a grandma.”
Getting Revenge
Stoni decided to strike back by bringing up the issues she heard relating to Sharelle and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson‘s then-engagement.
“They say you have an open door type of relationship. It is an arranged relationship. You got together because it looks good on paper and business wise. For looks,” Stoni claimed. “Because it is rumored that he likes to have threesomes. With other parties.”
Sharelle denied the insinuation, adding, “I don’t have time to focus on what everyone else thinks and their opinion. If I am sitting here worried about what everyone feels then I am missing out on money. … We are together. There is no arrangement.”
Sharelle and Chad called it quits once production on the show wrapped.