No criminal charges have been filed against 50 Cent after he allegedly hit a fan in the head with his microphone during a performance in August.
“This matter has been set for a City Attorney Hearing, which is a pre-filing diversion available to eligible individuals,” the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office said in a statement to ET. “The case will remain open for the duration of 1 year from the date of the incident. It can be re-evaluated for possible criminal charges, should there be any further incidents between the parties or any additional reports made against Mr. Jackson. If there are no further police contacts with Mr. Jackson, this case will be closed after 1 year from the incident date.”
The incident occurred during the rapper’s August appearance at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles as part of his Final Lap Tour. In a video captured by fans, the 48-year-old rapper — born Curtis Jackson — is seen on one side of the stage, seemingly frustrated with his microphones as he throws one down and hands off another while YG performs on the stage behind him. A moment later, Jackson is seen walking to another part of the stage before he reappears rapping into another mic. That one also seems to fail and a crew member hands him a new mic. Jackson then turns and hurls his faulty mic into an area offstage.
Although the video does not show where the microphone landed, photos obtained by The Neighborhood Talk show Power 106 radio host Bryhana Monegain suffered an injury to her forehead purportedly from being hit with Jackson’s mic. In the pictures, Monegain has bloodstains on her face and is lifting gauze off of her forehead to show the gash allegedly caused by the mic.
Monegain did not host her midday show for Power 106 on Aug. 31. DJ Junior Boy took over her show, telling listeners, “I’ll be filling in for the homegirl Bryhana and I’ll be here until 3 p.m.”
Jackson’s lawyer previously denied that the rapper “intentionally” struck anyone after allegedly hitting a fan in the head with his microphone during a performance.
“Let’s be very clear; as I told LAPD this afternoon, my client Curtis would never intentionally strike anyone with a microphone,” the Power star’s attorney, Scott Leemon, told ET in a statement. “Anyone saying something different doesn’t have all the facts and is misinformed.”
A spokesperson from the LAPD told ET at the time that they’ve received no reports concerning the incident. “If a report was filed, it could have been at a different location, and that’s not something I would be able to confirm,” they added.
An eyewitness told ET that there was a two-hour delay at the beginning of the concert. “An hour into the delay in the beginning, Busta Rhymes made an announcement about the technical issues. The screen wasn’t working,” the eyewitness shared. “Nobody seemed annoyed by it when they finally got on stage.”
Another eyewitness said that the incident happened at 10:20 p.m. PT, telling ET that Jackson was upset at one of his sound guys because his mic wasn’t working.
“The first mic was not on and he threw it at the sound guy, the second mic wasn’t working and he threw it full force. The third mic was low and he pointed at the sound guy and was very upset,” the eyewitness explained, adding that the mic was thrown towards the VIP Section, but Jackson didn’t appear to notice that someone was injured and there was blood on the floor.
According to TMZ, who first reported the incident, sources close to the rapper say Jackson wasn’t targeting Monegain, adding that she wasn’t supposed to be in the restricted area.
Cardi B previously made headlines with her own microphone incident after a concertgoer splashed her in the face with water while she was performing at Drai’s Nightclub in Las Vegas last month. In a video captured by fans, the rapper responded by throwing her microphone into the crowd. Security intervened and removed the person from the audience before the show continued to go on.
Shortly after the incident went viral, Cardi had been listed as a suspect in a battery investigation.
The Las Vegas Metro Police issued a statement to ET, sharing that the concertgoer who was struck by Cardi’s mic reported a battery to LVPD, saying she had been “struck by an item” that was thrown from the stage while at Cardi’s show at Drai’s Nightclub. The incident was documented on a police report with the “Up” rapper listed as the assailant.
On Aug. 3, the LVPD confirmed to ET that the Invasion of Privacy artist will not face criminal repercussions following insufficient evidence in the case.
Following the incident, the microphone involved was auctioned off for a good cause. An eBay listing popped up purporting to be auctioning off the audio equipment in question for charity.
According to the listing, the ad was published by Scott Fisher, who owns The Wave, a Las Vegas-based audio company that provides audio support to many nightclubs, including Drai’s Nightclub, where the incident occurred.
“This is the mic that has been seen all over the country flying into the crowd after Cardi was splashed with some liquid,” he wrote, before confirming that the equipment still works.
In the listing, Fisher warned people to only bid if they intended to purchase the item, writing, “This is a serious auction and the money is going to a good cause. If you don’t plan on actually paying for the item please don’t bid. If you want a piece of hip hop infamy and what has now become national and world news then please bid whatever you are willing to spend….thanks.”
Fisher put the item up for auction on July 31 with a starting price of $500. He set the bidding to run through August 8. After 122 bids had been made, the microphone was sold for $99,900.
As for who will get the money from the sale, Fisher wrote that 100 percent of the profits will be split among two charities: Friendship Circle Las Vegas and the Wounded Warrior Project.
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