The ongoing feud between 50 Cent and Courtney Kemp, his former collaborator on the hit series Power, has grown after actor Omari Hardwick’s recent remarks about his views on the friction between the two. Those comments led the G-Unit founder to taunt Kemp on social media.
“Small ass in a BIG seat, 😆 she forgot I hired her @OmariHardwick is a real [ninja emoji] we hit the bullseye with POWER,” 50 Cent wrote in the caption to his Instagram post.
Hardwick was being interviewed by Gary Gerald Hamilton of the Associated Press. Hamilton asked Hardwick about Kemp’s earlier comments stating that she initially aimed to write his iconic character of James “Ghost” St. Patrick off of Power early. Hardwick hesistated before answering.
“There was definitely a shift,” Hardwick replied. “Often times, the most talented people are treated not necessarily the greatest. I think there’s a lot of small a–es in big seats in life. Trying to relegate the big a—es to small seats in life. So I started to know the lay of the land as it pertained to New York having me.”
“Jay always said nine dudes will kill for Omari. One might have an issue,” Hardwick continued, pausing to see if Hamilton was following. “I never said anything, did I? That’s why I always rock with 50. I always pray for Courtney. Always. Never stopped praying for her.”
50 Cent has made no secret of his conflict with Kemp relating to Power, which burst onto the scene in 2014 on the Starz network. In a recent interview with Variety ahead of his appearance in the Street Fighter movie as Balrog, the “How To Rob” MC pointedly said he’d never work with Kemp again.
Kemp did respond in a statement to Variety: “While 50’s recollection of budgets and production requirements is uninformed, as he was rarely in a budget meeting, I have never once understated his importance in the genesis of ‘Power.’”
She added, “While he did not write nor create the series, he was a large part of its birth. That said, I am completely bewildered by his need to mention me in interviews or podcasts. I have completely moved on in my career, and I hope that the imminent success of ‘Street Fighter’ allows him to do the same.”
