'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Podcaster and hip-hop internet personality Joe Budden has been beefing with rapper 50 Cent this month, seemingly stemming from a comment he made on his podcast last week.
Their drama started following Curtis Jackson, professionally known as 50 Cent, weighing in on Irv Gotti's untimely passing earlier in the month, posting a picture of a fake gravestone, captioned:
"I’m smoking on dat Gotti pack, nah God bless him LOL."
Trending
More recently, DJ Akademiks commented on Jackson and Budden's ongoing feud, calling out Joe for supposedly being a "hypocrite" for wishing to sue the rapper over AI-generated images.
"I think this was bad optically to say. Now, it makes you sound exactly like what you've criticized... A n---a putting up an AI picture of you in a brief doesn't hold a candle to a man calling you a pedophile," DJ Akademiks stated.
Akademiks is seemingly referencing Budden's earlier comments criticizing Drake over pursuing legal action against UMG for alleged defamatory business practices in connection with Kendrick Lamar's Grammy-winning diss track Not Like Us.
From Irv Gotti's passing to AI-Images: Recapping 50 Cent and Joe Budden's 2025 beef
On February 5, 2025, Irv Gotti, founder of Murder Inc. Records, passed away from reported complications arising from a hemorrhagic stroke, reportedly aggravated by his Type-1 diabetes.
Gotti's untimely death caused several major hip-hop icons to pay their respect, taking to social media to share their appreciation for the life and legacy of the American record producer.
Irv Gotti and 50 Cent have had a rocky relationship for the past 25 years, with reports of their rivalry stemming from Jackson's "G-Unit" crew's beef with rapper Ja Rule, who was signed to Gotti's Murder Inc. Records.
According to XXL, multiple reports allegedly suggest Gotti was friends with the individual who commissioned 50 Cent's infamous 2000 shooting, where he survived being shot nine times.
Following 50 Cent's "gravestone post" on Instagram, in which he can be seen sitting next to a mock tombstone while smoking a cigar, Joe Budden was one of many individuals online who appeared to call out Curtis Jackson.
During a February 18 episode of his "The Joe Budden Podcast," when discussing 50's Instagram post, the podcaster suggested that the rapper needed "therapy".
"50 Cent needs therapy. I don't care if you agree with the rationale. 50 is 50, he gon' stand in it. He gon' stand strong in it. If 50 feels like that, then go smoke a cigar in the cigar room. I’m not telling him how to feel. But publicly saying ‘Damn, I wanted him to see my new shows….’ Or whatever the fu*k is being said, I think it’s wrong," Joe stated.
50 Cent responded to Budden's comments with another Instagram post, that featured a screenshot of The Joe Budden Podcast. His caption appeared to reference Joe being charged with lewdness in December 2024.
"Stay out my mix Joe talking about I need therapy. B***h you need to stop walking around naked. The fvck is you doing in the hallway with ya balls out PUNK!," 50's caption read.
According to reports from December, Joe Budden was seemingly charged with lewdness for being naked in his apartment hallway and knocking on his neighbor's door. The charges were later dropped, with the podcaster claiming it was a "sleepwalking episode".
Jackson continued to target Budden online with follow-up posts on Instagram, where he taunted the podcaster's sleepwalking episode.
The rapper seemingly uploaded AI-generated photos of Joe Budden in his underwear as well as a video that replaced Budden's head on singer D'Angelo's body, taken from the music video for Untitled (How Does It Feel).
"When you get an alert on your phone at 7:20 in the morning," 50 Cent captioned his AI-generated post.
Joe addressed the latest AI-generated posts during his podcast, uploaded on February 23, claiming:
"I ain't one of these rap ni**as. He do that sh*t, I make money, I get paid. Any time one of them ni**as with 30 million, 50 million followers post me, good or bad, I get paid. If I have a problem with it, we getting lawyers involved."
A day later 50 Cent responded to Joe Budden citing his intention to pursue legal action against him for the AI-generated images, stating:
"So that’s the plan you gonna sue me Joe. Hahaha I think you are mistaken me for someone else. I’m a get face to face wit you, so you can tell me about the therapy I need."
Given the rise in controversy surrounding AI-generated content, Joe Budden's intention to pursue legal action against 50 Cent's Instagram posts isn't far-fetched.
Last year, multiple AI-generated NSFW images of Taylor Swift were uploaded to X, with reports suggesting she and her team were looking to pursue legal actions against accounts that uploaded and distributed these images on the social media platform.
