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Vivica A. Fox is opening up about her lifelong connection to ex-boyfriend 50 Cent.
Fox spoke exclusively to PEOPLE while promoting his new Lifetime holiday movie, The Christmas Campaign, at the It’s a Wonderful Lifetime Holiday Event on Tuesday, November 18th in New York City. During the conversation, the actress spoke candidly about her relationship with 50 Cent, with whom she briefly dated in 2003.
“Honestly, it’s like the gift that keeps on giving,” says Fox, 61. “We are friends. There are no negative feelings.”
She also referenced her recent comments at the Ultimate Women’s Expo in Edison, New Jersey, where she jokingly told an audience member who was asked for advice for young women chasing their dreams: “Don’t date 50 Cent. Don’t date a rapper.”
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“This time it was positive,” she says of 50 Cent’s reaction to the comment. “Everyone had a good laugh hearing that, and it was refreshing not to fight him.”
Foxx and 50 Cent, 50, famously took swipes at each other via social media in the years since their split, and at times appeared to have a negative relationship.
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“And we’re always connected…I call us like the black Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton,” she continued, referring to Taylor and Burton’s famous on-and-off romance. (The two were married twice and divorced separately.)
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Fox appeared on the Nov. 18 episode of Sherri, hosted by Sherri Shepherd, to further clarify his recent comments about the “Candy Shop” singer. During the episode, the Independence Day actress explained that she was actually talking about things she wished she knew about high-profile relationships in general, rather than a specific relationship.
“What happened was they[the Ultimate Women’s panel hosts]said, ‘Vivica, if you could tell your 17-year-old self one thing, what would you say?’ And I thought, ‘I wish I had known not to go public with it so early.’ Not to let it out. This is to avoid a breakup that lasted 22 years, right? ”
“We’re not fighting anymore, guys…You know we’ve got that guy (who) has always had a little bit of a special place in him…We’re in a good place,” she added while talking to Shepard.
Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE at a recent Lifetime event, Fox also shared some details about her professional wins, including her upcoming holiday film, The Christmas Campaign.
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“The most exciting thing for me is working with Jackie (Harry) again. I really love her,” she says. “And I had a great time working with two new actors, Austin[Jay]and Chelsea[Rose Cook]who I had never worked with before. Their energy was so refreshing, (and) the storyline was really, really good. And I ended up not only starring in it, but also executive producing it.”
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“I became the Christmas queen of my life and the queen of my whole life,” she added. “I did, like, 20, 30 (movies) with them? (and) the fact that I became a director (in addition to being an actress) was really important in my development.”
The Christmas campaign will air on Lifetime on Saturday, November 29th at 10am ET.
