50 Cent fails in legal bid to silence ex-girlfriend

A New York appeals court has rejected 50 Cent's request to win a lawsuit 'by default' against an ex-girlfriend over her tell-all Instagram posts.

The rapper sued Shaniqua Tompkins last year, claiming her posts violated a 2007 agreement in which she allegedly sold the star her life rights in perpetuity.

Her lawyers fired back in January that she was coerced into signing that deal with threats and intimidation.

50's lawyers had asked to win the case by default, citing the fact that it took Tompkins months to respond to it. But in a ruling on Thursday, the court rejected the bid.

Tompkins, the mother of 50 Cent's daughter Marquise Jackson, went viral with a series of Instagram posts commenting on the criminal trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Billboard reports.

Of signing away her life rights, she noted in an affidavit, "I was given no opportunity to seek independent counsel or negotiate any terms. Fearing for my life and for my children's lives, I signed the agreement under extreme duress."

Now that judges have formally rejected 50's appeal, the case will be sent back to the lower court for more litigation, where Tompkins will have a chance to fully defend herself.

In other 50 Cent news, the Grammy-winning rapper this week shared his reaction to Sean Combs: The Reckoning's three Emmy nominations. 50 Cent executive produced the controversial documentary series on his hip-hop rival, which was released on Netflix in December,

"Everybody had something to say when I announced it... Now the Emmys got something to say too," he wrote on Instagram. Emmy nominations for Sean Combs: The Reckoning. You can't argue with the work."

The docuseries is nominated for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series, Outstanding Directing for a Documentary or Nonfiction Programme and Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Programme.