50 Cent taking ex to court over fire claim

NEW YORK, June 19 (UPI) -- 50 Cent's lawyers reportedly are planning to file a legal complaint against his ex-girlfriend, who has accused the U.S. rapper of burning down her home.

Shaniqua Tompkins, the mother of 50 Cent's 11-year-old son Marquise, has publicly claimed the hip-hop artist orchestrated a fire that destroyed the Long Island, N.Y., mansion where she and her son had been living.

"He tried to kill me and his own child," Tompkins has said of the blaze. "I know this came from 50 Cent."

The New York Daily News said that while the cause of the fire is under investigation, 50 Cent's attorneys are working on a defamation complaint against Tompkins.

"There comes a point where you can no longer sit on your hands and listen to her spread these falsehoods," Brett Kimmel, a lawyer for the rapper whose real name is Curtis Jackson, told the Daily News. "Besides hurting his reputation, they have a damaging impact on their son."

The newspaper said Tompkins' attorney didn't return its call requesting a comment for the report.