The season two of the fan favourite series, Empire has come under attack. Both Terrence Howard and the show’s creator and executive producer Lee Daniels are being sued by Ron Newt, a self-confessed “gangster, pimp, and drug dealer,” for allegedly stealing the idea for the hit show.
Newt says the fictitious character Lucious Lyon, played by Howard, is too similar to his own — claiming he met with the actor some time ago at a Four Seasons hotel to discuss his documentary, “Bigger Than Big.”
The self-proclaimed former kingpin claims that he wanted the 46-year-old to play him in a feature-film version. Now, in the lawsuit, Newt is asking for $1 billion in damages. But according to entertainment insider Victoria Cook, the figure is over the top.
“Obviously the show hasn’t even come close to making that money, so to measure damages that way is something that’s certainly never going to be honored by the court,” Cook explained. But the show is no stranger to controversy.
You may remember the accusations early on that it was ripping off Starz’s music-dynasty series “Power” — all the way down to the ad campaign. And of course, there was the cultural backlash initiated by the comments Tavis Smiley made to Larry King.
Check out this video to hear more about the controversies surrounding “Empire,” and tune in to “The Insider With Yahoo” on TV tonight for the latest in entertainment news.
