50 Cent Goes After Oprah

First Published: May 9, 2006 2:15 PM EDT Credit: Access Hollywood

Caption 50 Cent

-- He usually saves his beefs for other rappers; this time, 50 Cent is going after Oprah Winfrey.In an interview with The Associated Press, 50 complained that Winfrey rarely invites rappers on her talk show:

“I think she caters to older white women…Oprah’s audience is my audience’s parents,” the 29-year-old rapper said. “So, I could care less about Oprah or her show.”He’s not alone in his resentment toward the talk show host cum media mogul.Rapper-actor Ludacris, aka Chris Bridges, said in the May issue of GQ magazine that Winfrey was “unfair” during a show he appeared on last October with co-stars from best-picture Oscar winner “Crash.”“She edited out a lot of my comments while keeping her own in,” he said. “Of course, it’s her show, but we were doing a show on racial discrimination, and she gave me a hard time as a rapper, when I came on there as an actor.”Winfrey’s representative at her production company, Harpo, told the AP that Winfrey was unavailable for comment.But, as 50 Cent said, Winfrey’s purported disapproval might enhance a rap star’s street cred.“I’m actually better off having friction with her,” he said.The crack-dealer-turned-rapper has sold millions of records gleefully flaunting his gangsta image, explicit lyrics and bulletproof vest (he was famously shot nine times). He has his own record label, G-Unit, the G-Unit clothing line, his own sneaker line with Reebok and a videogame, “Bulletproof.”And he wears his rough-and-tumble reputation proudly: “I don’t mind it. I’ve actually accepted it.”The rapper, who’s signed to close pal Eminem’s Shady/Aftermath label under Interscope Records, said he recently attended Proof’s wake with Eminem. Proof, a friend of Eminem’s, was shot and killed earlier this month during a dispute in a Detroit nightclub.“He’s coming along,” he said of Eminem. “He’s gonna be all right. I mean, it was definitely a big loss for him. Proof was actually his best friend in the world from forever.”On the heels of Proof’s death, a study released last week by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation _ a nonprofit public health research group _ suggested that young people who listen to rap music are more prone to alcohol and drug use and aggressive behavior.But 50’s not buying it.He points a finger at parents, who he thinks should explain to their children that his music is a form of entertainment, not a license to break the law.“I think that the violence that happened to Proof and the violence that’s happening across America right now has nothing to do with hip-hop,” he said. “It has something to do with the people -- the state of them -- and the music doesn’t alter that.”

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