Does 50 Cent billboard promote violence?

updated 4:29 p.m. ET Oct. 26, 2005

LOS ANGELES - Activists want Paramount Pictures to take down billboards promoting the upcoming film “Get Rich or Die Tryin,” claiming the advertisements promote gun violence.

The billboards depict Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson holding a gun in his left hand and a microphone in his right. One of the advertisements is next to a preschool.

Najee Ali, who organized a rally Tuesday, accused Paramount of irresponsibility for marketing in high-crime areas a movie that he said glorifies carrying guns.

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“We’re calling upon Paramount Pictures to remove these billboards out of our neighborhood and from this city,” Ali said.

A Paramount spokeswoman did not immediately return a message left at her office before business hours Wednesday.

“Get Rich or Die Tryin”’ stars Jackson as a drug dealer who turns away from crime to pursue his true passion, rap music. It’s scheduled to open Nov. 9.

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