50 Cent trolls Joe Budden for allegedly rushing out of NYC strip club after podcast host said rapper needs therapy

The rapper 50 Cent took to Instagram over the weekend to troll Joe Budden suggesting that the podcaster was spotted leaving a strip club in Queens, New York. According to a report in HotNewHipHop, 50's post, which has since been deleted, was supposedly generated by AI. It featured a picture of a shirtless Budden with a crowd of people taking pictures of him in the background.

In the caption for the now-deleted post, 50 wondered why the podcaster left Mermaids "so fast." It is worth noting that Mermaids is a strip club located in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, New York.

"Why you just left out of mermaids so fast Joe? it's starting to get spooky right "

A tweet of the post's screenshot was uploaded to X on Sunday, February 23, 2025, and has since gone viral, receiving 121K views. Netizens have been reacting to it, with many stating that they initially thought the rapper was on his "basic troll" behavior and joking but believed that it "actually bothered him."

This was in relation to Budden claiming that the rapper needed therapy during an episode of his podcast.

"At first I thought 50 was on his basic troll sh*t and kinda joking but now I think that sh*t actually bothered him," an X user commented.

"This is not a subliminal message. Very straight forward. Said his name. Posted a picture of him," added another.

"This bloated baby man doing too much ! Joe should ignore him ! He let people gas him up too much and now thinks he is funny !" one more netizen wrote.

Some netizens also called Fif "too damn old" to bully someone, speculating if perhaps the Window Shopper rapper did need therapy for real.

"This ni**a too damn old for his bullying behavior. Joe was right, you he does need therapy. Get over it, it’s the truth tf," another netizen noted.

"50 bullying joe. I wonder if he will go on a rant like he did with drake probz not," one more netizen wrote.

"I find it weird and ironic that who had him shot is still there he has no smoke for him. Just like how the other guy gets bodied in the battle and only directs his shots at women. These two have so much in common," one more X user wrote.

The image attached to 50 Cent's now-deleted Instagram post about Budden is generated by AI.

---

50 Cent seemingly upset with Joe Budden because of his "therapy" comment

50 Cent's recent Instagram post comes after the podcaster claimed that the 21 Questions rapper needed therapy in an episode of his podcast earlier this month.

According to a Complex article, published on February 18, 2025, the podcaster gave his opinion on hip-hop, saying that it was the "new meaning" to state that a person needed therapy. He went on to add that Kanye West and 50 Cent both needed therapy.

"Hip-hop is the new meaning for ‘I need therapy.’ Kanye West needs therapy. 50 Cent needs therapy. I don’t care if you agree with the rationale. And 50 is 50. He gon’ stand in it. He gon’ stand strong in it," Budden said.

The podcaster then spoke specifically about 50 Cent's reaction to the news of Irv Gotti's death. Joe Budden remarked how such feelings should be expressed in private, and not in public.

"If 50 feels like that, then go smoke a cigar in the cigar room. I’m not telling him how to feel. Yeah, feel like that!" he said.

Responding to Budden in an Instagram post last week, 50 Cent asked the podcaster to "stay out of" his mix adding that he needed to stop walking around naked.

50's diss stems from the lewdness charge Budden faced in January after a neighbor complained about seeing him naked in the hallway. Joe was later cleared after a judge determined that he didn't commit any crime.

---

Joe Budden clarified the accusation in a podcast episode, claiming that he has a medical condition of sleepwalking which led to him walking unclothed in the hallway. Budden also claimed that his neighbor "lied on the paperwork" claiming he was ma*****ating on her door.

The podcaster then went on to thank the judge later for being fair during his trial.