The rapper, who filed for bankruptcy after being handed a bill for $5m damages, says he poses as wealthy on social media for his ‘brand’ 
 
 50 Cent certainly had an unusual way of following his filing for bankruptcy last summer – posing for Instagram photos with stacks of cash. Now he has had to explain himself in front of a bankruptcy judge, and claim the money was stage props. 
 
 The rapper, real name Curtis Jackson, was last summer ordered to pay $5m (£3.2m) to a woman who said he had posted online, without consent, a sex tape of her and her boyfriend to which he had added a lewd commentary. He responded to the verdict by filiing for chapter 11 bankruptcy. In a hearing to assess punitive damages against him, he claimed many of his trappings of wealth were borrowed. 
 
 However, it soon appeared he also began to claim he had further riches, posting a photo on Instagram four months ago in which piles of banknotes spelled out the word “broke”. He then posted a video to the site that showed a palatial building, claiming “my crib is almost finished in Africa”. 
 
 However, those claims attracted the attention of both creditors – including a headphone company that claims it is owed $18m – and the bankruptcy court, and 50 Cent was ordered to appear before Judge Ann Nevins on Wednesday to explain himself. Appraisers had already totalled his assets at $64m, against his claim of $16m. 
 
 50 Cent’s lawyers explained: “The cash depicted in the social media postings is not real. The postings, which amongst other things, make use of stage or prop money, are part of the Debtor’s routine social media marketing activities and relate directly to the Debtor’s various business interests. Prop money is routinely used in the entertainment industry, including in movies, television shows, videos and social media postings.” 
 
 In court papers seen by the Daily Mail, the rapper asked not to be restricted in what he posted to social media, saying any such move “would, in all likelihood, be commented upon negatively in the entertainment media and result in damage to my brand and earning capacity”. 
 
 He also said there was no house in Africa: “I do not own, nor have I ever owned, any real property in Africa. If I did own any property in Africa or any other real properties, I would have disclosed them as required by the Bankruptcy Code.” ||||| Is Fiddy really broke? 
 
 Details of 50 Cent’s financial standing filed in a Connecticut court Monday claim he’s underwater, with $25 million in assets but $33 million in liabilities. 
 
 The rapper, actor, business mogul and boxing promoter filed for bankruptcy last month on the heels of being ordered to pay $7 million to Lastonia Leviston, who sued him after he allegedly posted a sex tape featuring her online. 
 
 Fiddy (real name: Curtis Jackson III) claims in court he has $25 million in assets, including an $8 million Connecticut mansion, a $572,000 home in Valley Stream, LI, and an Atlanta home worth $464,000. 
 
 But the “bankrupt” rapper is also claiming $33 million in debts, most from the $7 million judgment owed to Leviston and an $18 million debt to electronics company Sleek Audio after they sued Fiddy after a deal to produce headphones went sour. 
 
 He makes $3 million a year from his performing and recording career, according to the filing. 
 
 He also rakes in another $370,000 from his boxing-promotions company SMS Promotions, and another $771,000 from books, films and touring under his G-Unit, and other, entities. 
 
 The filing also claims Fiddy has $10 million in cash, and $500,000 worth of cars including three Chevy Suburbans and a 2010 Rolls-Royce. 
 
 But he also has about $108,000 in monthly expenses, including a $5,745-per-month Bentley car lease and $12,000 in child support for two kids. 
 
 Since April, the well-dressed rapper has paid more than $330,000 to American Express and another $52,000 to his stylist Erin McSherry. 
 
 Reps for 50 Cent didn’t get back to us. ||||| FILE - In this July 20, 2015, file photo, Actor Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson attends the premiere of "Southpaw" at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square in New York. The rapper says in a Connecticut bankruptcy court... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this July 20, 2015, file photo, Actor Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson attends the premiere of "Southpaw" at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square in New York. The rapper says in a Connecticut bankruptcy court... (Associated Press) 
 
 HARTFORD, CONN. (AP) — Rapper 50 Cent says in a Connecticut bankruptcy court filing he spends $108,000 a month on his expenses, including $5,000 for gardening. 
 
 He has a monthly income of $185,000, mainly from royalties and interest on his investments. But he's paying $72,000 a month to maintain his suburban Hartford mansion. 
 
 He filed for bankruptcy last month after New York City jurors ordered him to pay $7 million to a woman who said he posted online a crudely narrated sex tape she made with a boyfriend. 
 
 His Monday court filing says he also owes money to his stylist, his barber and his fitness coach. 
 
 The rapper was born Curtis Jackson III. His album "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" helped make him one of the world's best-selling artists. He's due back in bankruptcy court Wednesday.
– 50 Cent might have stretched the truth a bit in court when he told a lawyer all his Lamborghinis, Bentleys, and Rolls Royces were rented. New bankruptcy filings show he actually owns seven cars, including a Rolls Royce and three Chevy Suburbans, worth $500,000, report People and Page Six. But apparently he still doesn't have a ton of cash to throw around—relatively speaking, anyway. The AP reports the rapper pulls in about $185,000 per month but has $108,000 in monthly expenses, including $72,000 a month for the utilities, mortgage, property tax, and insurance on his 50-room Hartford mansion. Where else is his money going? He spends $9,000 on security, $5,000 on gardening, $1,000 on grooming, and $3,000 on his wardrobe each month. Another $5,745 goes toward a car lease, while $14,600 is used to support his two children and grandfather. On top of all that, he reportedly owes his stylist $5,245 in back pay, as well as unspecified debts to his barber and personal trainer. His biggest debt of all: $18 million to electronics company Sleek Audio—the result of a lawsuit over a failed headphones deal—in addition to the $7 million 50 Cent has been ordered to pay in a sex-tape lawsuit. The rapper is due back in court tomorrow.