"I don't feel bad for no grown man" — Michael Rainey Jr. says he doesn’t feel bad for Lil Meech amid his beef with 50 Cent
Michael Rainey Jr. appeared to support rapper 50 Cent in his dispute with Lil Meech, whose real name is Demetrius Edward Flenory Jr. The disagreement between Fifty, aka Curtis James Jackson III, and Lil Meech began after the latter's father, Big Meech, was photographed with the former's rival, Rick Ross.
Lil Meech stars in 50 Cent's Starz series BMF, which is based on Big Meech's life as the leader of the Black Mafia Family (BMF) gang. Michael Rainey Jr. is part of Fifty's Power franchise and its spinoff, Power Book II: Ghost, portraying Tariq St. Patrick.
In the clip posted on X by No Jumper on March 24, 2025, Rainey Jr. seemingly responded to a question about whether he felt bad for Lil Meech in the wake of his feud with Curtis, which seemingly left his role in the BMF series uncertain.
"Do I feel bad for Lil Meech? I don't feel bad for no grown man in this planet. Like, I'm a grown man, why the f**k I gotta feel bad for another grown man, like. You a grown man too, n***a," Rainey Jr. replied.
Michael Rainey Jr.'s comment regarding Lil Meech came weeks after Fifty congratulated him on his recent NAACP win. Rainey Jr. won Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in Power Book II: Ghost during the award ceremony on February 22. According to Vibe, 50 Cent took to his Instagram to pen a message for Rainey Jr. following his win, writing:
“@michaelraineyjr won NAACP outstanding actor in a drama series, he is gonna be better [than] all of us. He’s focused got 2 movies in the can BOOM.”
Exploring 50 Cent's feud with Lil Meech
50 Cent's feud with Lil Meech was an extension of his beef with his father, Big Meech. While the rapper was seemingly on good terms with Big Meech following the latter's release from prison in 2024, their relationship fractured after Big Meech was spotted with Fifty's known rival, Rick Ross, earlier this year.
On February 3, Curtis publicly made his disdain for Big Meech known after he called the BMF leader a rat in an Instagram post. He also alleged that Tammy Cowin, Big Meech's former business partner and current producer of BMF, will expose Meech in a "tell-all docu."
On February 6, 2025, the rapper posted a series of messages he allegedly received from Lil Meech after he ignited his feud with his father. The messages read:
"Now u mad at me when I would take the shirt off my back for you. I can’t believe this man. U act as if I’m your enemy. I’ve only showed u love and loyalty. I go thru my own s**t but I never switched up on u. F**k Rick Ross but he gave my dad some bread so he can afford to pay his bills until our next season starts."
According to Complex, 50 Cent captioned the post with, "What next season," alluding to either canceling the show or preventing Lil Meech's involvement in the series.
In the following weeks, 50 Cent theorized why Big Meech was trying to drive a wedge between the rapper's relationship with Lil Meech, writing in a now-deleted Instagram post on February 19:
"I thought about it. I think he was uncomfortable with me and MeMe’s relationship. I’m telling MeMe I don’t want him doing drugs. He telling him he use to do X like it’s cool. I tell meme chill stop spending all ya money, he telling him how much money he blew."
The rapper claimed he paid for Lil Meech to go to rehab after the actor allegedly got high and fell sick while shooting for BMF, continuing:
"People don’t know I had to send MeMe to rehab Russell Hornsby peeped he was high as f**k on set he started throwing up at a weapons test then Ian told me the little had whippets in his truck. I said what the f**k is whippets I look it’s the s**t that be in Bebe guns."
The fate of the BMF series is currently unclear at the time of this article. BMF wrapped up its third season in 2024 and was renewed for a fourth season.
