50 Cent has filed a defamation suit against his ex-girlfriend Daphne Joy, more than one month after she publicly accused him of rape and physical abuse in an Instagram post.
The rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, filed the suit in Texas on Monday, May 6, claiming his ex’s “false accusations” have subjected the star to “extensive public ridicule, hatred and contempt,” and that her post was a “purposeful attempt” to sully his reputation and keep him from seeing their 11-year-old son, Sire.
The court documents, which were obtained by PEOPLE, stem from a March 28 Instagram post made by Joy, whose real name is Daphne Narvaez. In the post, Narvaez, 37, wrote that she and Sire moved to New York in order to be closer to Jackson, but that the “In da Club” rapper, 48, only saw his son 10 times in two years.
“I am tired of upholding and protecting an image to our son that you have never even earned. Let’s put the real focus on your true evil actions of raping me and physically abusing me,” she wrote.
Jackson’s attorney Reena Jain of Blank Rome tells PEOPLE in a statement that “despite being given ample opportunity to retract a false and malicious retaliatory accusation, Ms. Narvaez has shamefully chosen to interfere with her 11-year-old son’s relationship with his loving father by falsely calling him a ‘rapist.'”
An attorney for Narvaez did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment
According to Jackson’s filing, Narvaez shared her post the same day reports emerged that Jackson was seeking custody of their son following a March lawsuit that labeled Narvaez a “sex worker” (That suit was filed by producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones against Sean “Diddy” Combs).
The documents say Narvaez “retaliated” against Jackson’s custody filing by posting “multiple defamatory statements” to Instagram, which “falsely and publicly accuse Jackson of rape and physical abuse during their prior relationship, in a purposeful attempt to… destroy his personal and business reputation, harm Jackson’s commercial and business interests, negatively affect his custody case, and prevent him from seeing his minor son. Narvaez’s claims are false.”
Jackson’s filing says he and his attorneys gave Narvaez “multiple opportunities” to either correct or retract her statements, and when she did not, he took action in order to “vindicate his rights and protect his reputation.”