Taco Bell Responds To 50 Cent's $4 Million Lawsuit

November 21, 2008 8:06 a.m. EST

Los Angeles, CA (CNS) - Restaurant chain Taco Bell is speaking out against 50 Cent, responding to the rapper superstar's lawsuit with a federal lawsuit of their own.

The rapper - real name Curtis James Jackson III - sued the Mexican-themed fast food in July for $4 million, citing trademark infringement. His beef with the company started when the food chain wrote an open letter asking to "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" star to change his name to 79 Cent, 89 Cent or 99 Cent for one day in honor of their value meal promo. In return, they would donate $10,000 to his favorite charity.

The letter read: "We know that you adopted the name 50 Cent years ago as a metaphor for change. We at Taco Bell are also huge advocates for change. We encourage you to 'Think Outside the Bun' and hope you accept our offer."

Jackson saw the gimmick as a "sleazy and ill-conceived publicity stunt" that used his fame without consent as the letter was first distributed to the media.

Now, with a federal lawsuit of their own, Taco Bell is calling 50 Cent's suit as "another of Jackson's attempts to burnish his gangsta rapper persona by distorting beyond all recognition the bona fide, good faith offer that Taco Bell made."

The food company's legal camp also said that their letter falls under the free speech protection, saying, "Jackson has used his colorful past to cultivate a public image of belligerence and arrogance and has a well-publicized track record of making threats, starting feuds and filing lawsuits."