The Truth About Oprah And 50 Cent's Relationship

One of the most bizarre feuds in the entertainment world is the long-running beef between 50 Cent and Oprah Winfrey. These two entrepreneurs and entertainers have been publicly battling and making up for years — they just can't seem to get along, despite their attempts at making amends. For example, in 2012, per The Hollywood Reporter, 50 Cent went on Oprah's show to talk about their issues, and they had a lengthy and productive conversation. But now they're at odds again, as 50 Cent recently slammed Oprah (and her BFF Gayle King) for her work around the #MeToo movement.

Their feud was seemingly reignited when it was announced that Oprah was executive producing a documentary called On The Record, which would document the allegations made by women against famed music producer Russell Simmons. Oprah pulled out of the project in January 2020, citing "inconsistencies" with Drew Dixon's story, Simmons' most prominent accuser, per The New York Times. But, she added, she still believes Dixon and the other women in the film, and feels their stories "deserve to be told and heard" (via The Hollywood Reporter).

But before Oprah pulled out, 50 Cent took issue with her involvement, claiming that she was "going after black men" rather than other men accused of sexual misconduct, such as Harvey Weinstein, per Vox. Here's a look into these two stars' feud and what their relationship is like now.

In response to the news that Oprah Winfrey was going to executive produce On The Record, 50 Cent posted a photo of the talk show host with Russell Simmons on Instagram. He captioned the snapshot, "I don't understand why Oprah is going after black men. No Harvey Weinstein, No Epstein, just Micheal jackson and Russell Simmons this sh*t is sad." 

He also referenced Oprah's longtime bestie Gayle King, who interviewed R. Kelly about sexual assault allegations against him on CBS. The R&B singer was driven to anger during the interview, resulting in what 50 Cent called a "death blow" in his Instagram caption. He then concluded that, "These documentary's [sic] are publicly convicting their targets, it makes them guilty till proven innocent."

Oprah has spoken about other accused men, though. As a survivor of sexual assault herself, she's been outspoken about the issue for decades (via The Telegraph). In 2018, she told Gwyneth Paltrow on the Goop podcast that the #MeToo reckoning "had been coming with [Bill] Cosby and nothing happened, it had been coming with Bill O'Reilly ... even with the President of the United States, where people can hear the 'Access Hollywood' tape and yet, nothing happens. It had been coming and so that moment [Weinstein] was the moment where it all crystallized" (via CNN).

This isn't the first time 50 Cent and Oprah have publicly disagreed about their stances on certain issues. 

Back in 2012, 50 Cent came onto OWN's Oprah's Next Chapter to clear up some other public disagreements. In the interview, he revealed that he'd assumed Oprah didn't like him because she had spoken out against hip-hop and rap music's sexism and use the N-word, per The Hollywood Reporter. He'd once famously said that Oprah's audience was his audience's parents, so he could "care less" about her. He even named his female dog Oprah. 

50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, said in the interview, "I would see moments when you would discuss your feelings on the culture and everything that was wrong with the culture was what was on my CD, and I was like, 'Oh, she doesn't like me.' I was saying, 'If I can't be your friend, at least let me be your enemy, so I co-exist.'" Oprah responded, "I think it's so interesting that you thought that because I was against the use of the N-word, violence and singing about violence and misogynism, meant that I did not like you, because I did not know you."

As for the dog name, 50 explained, "At the time, I was just looking at the situation and I saw I was developing negative feelings for someone who doesn't even know me — and I gave it to the dog."

In the end, the pair agreed to disagree, and they ended the interview on a positive note.

Although they reached a resolution in the past, 50 Cent and Oprah Winfrey are still at odds over her involvement with the #MeToo movement. Even though she stepped down from the Russell Simmons documentary in January 2020, 50 Cent still seems to feel the same way about both Oprah and Gayle King. He further explained his feelings about the situation on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live in May 2020, telling host Andy Cohen while he "likes" both King and Oprah, he just doesn't understand why "they're choosing specific people for the #MeToo stuff" — likely referring to R. Kelly, Russell Simmons, and other black men whose sexual abuse allegations have been highlighted by Oprah and King. 

The rapper added, "The president has those accusations. And no one has a documentary on the president. And then, as far as entertainment is concerned, I thought [Harvey] Weinstein was bigger than the other guys in entertainment that we see." Compared to Weinstein and President Trump, 50 Cent said, "those other guys are just easy victims."

In 2019, 50 implied in an Instagram post that only black male celebrities have gone to jail for sexual abuse, unlike Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein, Kevin Spacey, and President Trump. But, in fact, Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York, while Epstein died in prison while awaiting trial.

Hopefully one day, 50 Cent and Oprah will resolve their disagreements for good.