July 09, 2008

50 Cent Says His Ex 'Said All Kind Of Things About Me I Never Would Expect' After House Fire

By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Tim Kash (MTV.com)

50 Cent just celebrated his 33rd birthday on Sunday, he has a new G-Unit album out in stores, millions upon millions in the bank - heck, a park in the neighborhood he grew up in is about to be named after him. But the Queens, New York, icon told MTV News last week that it's difficult for him to be the happy person we might assume he is.

Fif is going through what he called the "toughest" thing he's encountered in his life: not being able to see his 11-year-old son, Marquis, when he wants to. "I'm not going through a custody battle; just a transition," 50 clarified. "I'd like to be able to just see my baby."

With Marquis on break from school for the next couple of months, 50 would love to bring him out on the road, like he has in the past. This year, it will be different.

"In the summertime, for the first two years I was successful, my son has traveled with us on those tours. He was on the Rock the Mic Tour, he was on the Anger Management Tour. This summer, when he's free, it's, like, no communication. It's tough."

Just a couple of weeks ago, Shaniqua Tompkins took out a temporary restraining order against 50 in the wake of her $4 million Long Island home burning down in a fire the authorities classified as "suspicious." Tompkins quickly charged foul play, accusing 50 - who was on a movie set at the time in Louisiana - of possibly having something to do with the inferno. "He said that he was going to have someone come kill me, and see what he does? This is what he did," she told TMZ cameras.

50 responded through lawyers and online, calling the accusations ridiculous. "It's a surprise," 50 told us about the fire. "Nobody anticipates a house burning down." Tompkins' next step was filing a defamation lawsuit in late June.

While talking to MTV News, 50 didn't want to say too much about his drama with Tompkins. "I really don't wanna talk about it, because my son at some point will have the opportunity to see the tapes," he said. "She's still his mother, and I'm still his father, regardless. He's gonna love both of us.

"My relationship with my son is changing because he and his mom aren't friends anymore," he added, giving a more in-depth explanation. "There's different channels I have to go through. He has lawyers appointed to him through the court. So I have to talk to his lawyer to get things situated for me to for me to actually get him. The relationship between my wallet and his mom has changed. When people have expensive habits, it's a hell of a transition for them when that money is not there anymore. She said all kind of things about me I never would expect."

50 surmised that the discord between him and Tompkins has put their child in a difficult situation.

"I think he doesn't want his mom to feel like he's a traitor," the rapper said. " ... The time I spent away is the time he developed this thing he's afraid to break with her. There's nothing you can do about that. This is the toughest [thing I've had to face], because he's my motivation."