It seems as though everyone wants a piece of the empire when it comes to Lee Daniels’ hit Fox TV show. Last week a woman who claims to be the real Cookie Lyon filed a lawsuit against Daniels and Fox claiming that her likeness was stolen. And now the son of a legendary soul singer is claiming that Empire was his idea.
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According to TMZ, Marvin Gaye III, the son of Marvin Gaye, plans to file a lawsuit against Fox and Daniels. Gaye claims that he registered treatments with the Writers Guild of America in 2010 for a series called Those Sons of Riches, or Diamonds and Ballads, and said it was “a music-based ‘black’ and ‘hip’ version of Dynasty … with a little Sopranos.”
Gaye said that the idea was loosely based on Berry Gordy’s music empire and family and that he shopped the idea to several TV executives, including some of Daniels’ associates.
Gaye says Daniels even admitted that Empire was a black Dynasty and Sopranos, but about a musical family.
One thing’s for sure: The Gaye family doesn’t have a track record for losing lawsuits, having won its lawsuit against Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke.
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