50 Cent has faced significant backlash for his insensitive comments regarding the sexual assault of Michael Rainey Jr., star of the series “Power.” During a livestream on TyTy James’ Twitch channel, Rainey Jr., 23, was groped by the streamer’s younger sister. In a since-deleted Instagram post on June 10, 50 Cent dismissed the incident, writing, “Wait sexual assault [frowning face emoji] from a male perspective this was an aggressive advance. LOL HE’s fine no charges are being pressed.”
The rapper’s remarks were heavily criticized. One social media user commented, “The fact that 50 Cent came out and said Michael Rainey (Tariq from Power) was NOT sexually assaulted and that’s he’s fine when he clearly felt uncomfortable and immediately left when that girl touched him in his private parts is part of the problem in today’s society. Women can be predators too. Women can sexually assault others as well and women need to be held accountable. If he did that to her, his whole life and career would be up in FLAMES. We have to protect our young black men too!”
Another critic pointed out, “50 Cent posted on Instagram mocking & downplaying his lead actor for experiencing sexual assault in front of the whole world. He called it ‘an aggressive advance.’ But I’m supposed to believe this man cares about victims…” A third remarked bluntly, “50 Cent is great at being a terrible human.”
Michael Rainey Jr. responded to the incident, which quickly went viral. “At this point, everyone has seen the video circulating online. I am still in shock and don’t fully know how to process what happened last night,” he wrote on his Instagram Stories. “This is an unfortunate situation that I do not condone in any way. I can’t take it lightly because I know I would be in serious trouble if the roles were reversed. The fact is, sexual assault is never okay, regardless of gender or status. We’re all human and we should respect each other. Most importantly, we should respect ourselves always.”
TyTy James also issued an apology, expressing his embarrassment and disgust over his sister’s actions and stating she had been banned from future streams. He emphasized his support for any direction Rainey Jr. chooses to take regarding the situation.