50 Cent on bankruptcy filing: 'It's strategic'

While on a press tour promoting his new movie "Southpaw," 50 Cent continues to discuss his bankruptcy filing, insisting time and again that it was a protective move after the rapper was slapped with a $5 million lawsuit for publishing a sex tape featuring his rival Rick Ross' ex-girlfriend without her consent.

During an appearance Monday on the Season 4 premiere of Ora TV's "Larry King Now," 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, further explained why he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 13th:

"It's strategic," said the rapper. "It's a move that was necessary for me to make at this point so I didn't allow myself to create that big red and white bullseye on my back, where I become the person that people consistently come to."

50 Cent previously explained during an appearance on "Conan": "When you're successful and it's public, you become the ideal person for lawsuits."

But despite any negative backlash the rapper has received since filing for bankruptcy, Jackson says it doesn't bother him.

"I've seen so many things said about me on social networking at points and when you don't anticipate it, it lands a little harder on you," he told Larry King. "I can see what's gonna come from people. It lasts a week before they start going in a different direction."

Last week, 50 Cent testified in Manhattan Supreme Court that his flashy lifestyle is simply an illusion, and that he returns the cars and jewelry he shows off on social media.

"It's almost laughable for Mr. Jackson to think anyone believes he's broke and that everything is smoke and mirrors," Leviston's attorney, Hunter Shkolnik told The Wrap last week. "His business entities show otherwise." 

While Forbes estimated the rapper's fortune to be about $155 million in May, Jackson's lawyer said in court last Tuesday that his client's worth is $4.4 million, which presents a problem after he was hit with a $5 million verdict for allegedly publishing a sex tape starring Rick Ross' ex-girlfriend, Lastonia Leviston.

During his testimony, the rapper also claimed he only made "10 cents a record" from his 38 million album sales, and just $100,000 for the two movies he's currently in, "Spy" and "Southpaw." For his hit Straz series "Power," on which he is also an executive producer, Jackson said he's pocketed only $150,000 from each of its first two seasons.

Watch 50 Cent's interview with Larry King below: