10 Artists Who Lost Huge Chunks of Money to Lawsuits

November 8, 2012 - 7:01 pm by Chris Yuscavage

Lil Wayne might have to pick up a second job this year if he wants to buy Birdman something nice for Christmas. Earlier this week, a jury found that Weezy F. hurt the profits of a 2009 documentary called The Carter by objecting to the film and trying to block it from being released. So, as a result, the jury awarded filmmaker Quincy Jones III—the son of the legendary Quincy Jones—a whopping $2.2 million settlement. The jury also ruled in favor of Jones III in a lawsuit filed by Wayne in which he claimed that some of his music was used without his permission in the documentary. So, the $2.2 million figure stands. Sounds like Wayne should've taken that deposition that he turned into a complete joke a few months ago a little more seriously, huh?

Wayne isn't the first artist to get hit hard by a lawsuit, though. In fact, over the last few years, there have been a number of artists who have had to pay out large settlements because of lawsuits filed against them. So, we decided to put together a list of 10 Artists Who Have Lost Large Amounts of Money Thanks to Lawsuits Recently. These folks fought the law and, ultimately, the law won.

The Artist: Diddy How Much He Lost: $850,000 Why He Lost It: In September, 13 years after the infamous Club New York shooting that resulted in Shyne going to jail, the man formerly known as Puff Daddy reportedly paid off his share of a $1.8 million settlement that was reached with one of the victims of the shooting.

The Artist: Game How Much He Lost: $5 million Why He Lost It: Game featured five police officers from North Carolina on his 2005 Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin DVD. They sued him for defamation of character and were each awarded $1 million as a result of the lawsuit.

The Artist: Flo Rida How Much He Lost: $400,000 Why He Lost It: In October 2011, the Miami rapper failed to show up for a performance at the Fat As Butter festival in Australia. So, six months later, he was ordered to pay $80,000 due to a breach of the contract that he signed. But then, the judge in the case upped that amount to $400,000 because she felt as though Flo Rida had damaged the reputation of the organizers of the festival.

The Artist: Prince How Much He Lost: $3.95 million Why He Lost It: After agreeing to help promote a perfume inspired by his 2006 album, 3121, Prince was sued by Revelations Perfume and Cosmetics in 2008 when he refused to plug the perfume in any of his interviews. It took four years, but a judge eventually ruled in Revelations' favor earlier this year and told Prince to fork over almost $4 million.

The Artist: Sean Garrett How Much He Lost: $108,000 Why He Lost It: When the singer/songwriter failed to pay off a large debt on his American Express card, the credit card company took him to court. But, he said the debt was the result of identity theft and refused to answer to the lawsuit. So, a judge ruled in favor of AmEx and made him pay.

The Artist: Gucci Mane How Much He Lost: $270,000 Why He Lost It: Gooch borrowed a $130,000 pinky ring and a diamond/necklace/bracelet set worth $110,000 from a New York jeweler in early 2012. And, when he refused to return them, a lawsuit was filed against him. He never bothered to show up to court, though, so the judge ordered him to pay for the jewelry, plus interest and attorneys' fees, and also placed a lien on some property he owns.

The Artist: Sean Kingston How Much He Lost: $77,000 Why He Lost It: Last summer, Kingston allegedly trashed a Miami Beach apartment that he had been renting and then moved out and asked to be released from his lease. But, his landlord took him to court instead. Kingston never responded to the lawsuit, though, so the judge in the case ordered him to pay his landlord back for the damages he caused and also told the landlord to keep his $25,000 security deposit.

The Artist: Bow Wow How Much He Lost: $94,000 Why He Lost It: He has some sort of problem with paying off transportation fees. Early this year, a tour bus company was awarded $90K in unpaid bills. And then, just a few months later, a limo company also sued him for about $4,000 for using their services and never paying for them.

The Artist: Kid Rock How Much He Lost: $35,000 Why He Lost It: Three men were awarded a large sum of money in 2010 after they claimed that Kid Rock attacked them at the Roosevelt Hotel in L.A. back in 2008. Kid Rock was actually probably relieved about losing the $35K, though. Originally, the men had sued him and asked for $5 million each.

The Artist: Lil Wayne How Much He Lost: An undisclosed amount Why He Lost It: Oh, you thought the Carter documentary was the first thing that got Weezy sued? Well, think again. He's also been sued several times by producers who have claimed that they weren't paid for their services. The most prominent case involved Darius "Deezle" Harrison suing Weezy for $20 million for the work he did on Tha Carter III. Wayne settled out of court. How many lawsuits can this guy survive?!

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