Apparently, size does matter — when it comes to advertisements.
Rapper 50 Cent, whose legal name is Curtis J Jackson III, is suing a Miami-based plastic surgeon for using a photo of him as promotional material for penis enhancement surgery.
Jackson alleges that Angela Kogan of Perfection Plastic Surgery & Med Spa asked to take a photo with him and he obliged, but never consented to the image being used in such a manner or in an advertising manner at all.
“In the over two years since the photo was taken, [Kogan and her business] have used Jackson’s image and name for advertising and publicity purposes on [Kogan’s] social media accounts,” the lawsuit says. “Jackson never consented to his image, likeness, and name being used in this manner.”
Kogan’s team is moving to dismiss the allegations as the plastic surgeon vehemently denies the rapper’s claims and maintains that he did consent to the image, but a judge has denied her request.
The photo was used as a featured image for an article titled, “Penis Enhancements Are More Popular Than Ever & BBLs Are Dying Out: Cosmetic Surgery CEO Angela Kogan Speaks On It” on The Shade Room, which mentioned that Jackson is a client of the business though it did not directly state that he had received that exact service.
“Because the defendants took it upon themselves to post the video onto their Instagram accounts, Jackson can plausibly argue that the defendants unauthorizedly used his likeness to promote their business regardless of whether the defendants had any role in TSR’s publication of either the Tweet or the article,” Judge Robert N. Scola said.
The specific services that Jackson has received have not been publicly disclosed.