Don Roberts walked out of a Florida jail thanking 50 Cent by name — and hip-hop’s longest-running feud found its strangest new stage yet.
By Theon — The Superfan, CelebnMusic247
The man accused of pistol-whipping Rick Ross’ son is out of jail — and the first name out of his mouth was 50 Cent. In an Instagram video 50 shared on Wednesday, Oct. 21, Don Roberts speaks to the camera fresh off his release. “I appreciate everyone who believed in me, my family and friends,” Roberts says. “I’m out and I’m innocent. The Lord know I’m innocent. 50, I appreciate everything you done for me and believing in my innocence. Much love.”
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50 captioned the video with his own verdict: “I had a strong feeling this brother was innocent,” he wrote, adding “who snitching” and — because it is always business with him — a plug for his film: “STREET FIGHTER IN THEATERS NOW #1.”
Roberts, 20, had turned himself in on Oct. 16 on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, after William Roberts III — Ross’ 21-year-old son — picked him out of a photo lineup over the Oct. 11 confrontation near Bethune-Cookman University, as CelebnMusic247 reports in the companion story in this batch. Per Complex, Roberts has pleaded not guilty to both counts.
So how did 50 Cent get involved? The moment the arrest report surfaced, he posted Roberts’ booking information to his Instagram and made the offer in public: “I got him he will be out tomorrow I’m sending @drewfindling. This is a big misunderstanding that can easily be resolved. This was a street fight, I mean STREET FIGHTER is in theaters! LOL.” In an earlier post, per HotNewHipHop, he had asked, “What’s his name, get me his info I’m bounding him out!” — after questioning why Ross’ son went to police at all, a jab at Ross’ old correctional-officer past that 50 has been making for years. Roberts III’s mother, Tia Kemp, fired back at 50 for mocking her son, and 50 answered her on Instagram too.
One honest footnote before the legend hardens: the Los Angeles Times reported that it remains unclear whether 50 Cent personally posted Roberts’ bail, which had been set at $50,000. WKMG News 6 noted Roberts no longer appeared on the Volusia County jail roster by Tuesday without establishing how he got out. Roberts credits 50 — publicly and by name — but who actually paid the bond has not been independently confirmed.
The name 50 dropped matters beyond the troll. Drew Findling is one of hip-hop’s most prominent defense attorneys, and per HotNewHipHop, 50 is developing a scripted television project based on Findling’s legal career — so the shout-out doubles as advance promotion for his own TV slate. As of the source reporting, neither Ross nor his son had publicly commented.
50 Cent Gets a Public Thank-You
The 247 Take — This is the 50 Cent playbook running at full speed: a real young man’s felony case became a movie plug, a TV tie-in and a shot at his oldest rival, all inside two Instagram posts. Roberts says he’s innocent and gets to prove it in court; Ross’ son told police he feared for his life. In between those two serious facts stands 50, grinning, turning somebody else’s worst week into content. Nearly twenty years into this feud, that might be the pettiest — and most on-brand — move yet.
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Sources: KMEL | 50 Cent on Instagram | HotNewHipHop | Los Angeles Times via syndicated coverage (the $50,000 bail; 50 Cent paying it is unconfirmed) | Complex via KMEL (the not-guilty plea)
