Lee Daniels, Empire creator and Terrence Howard an actor, have been sued by Ron Newt, a self-described ‘known ghetto player’ for allegedly stealing the idea for the Empire show.
Newt is seeking $1 billion in damages in the lawsuit that claims the Fox show was based on the documentary, Bigger Than Big, about his life as a ‘gangster, pimp and drug dealer’.
Newt claimed in the lawsuit that Howard connected to the story and said he wanted to play him in a film.
Empire debuted in January to huge ratings and Newt alleged there were numerous similarities between his documentary and the show.
The lawsuit also pointed out that Cookie Lyon, portrayed by Taraji P. Henson, was sent to jail on drug charges much like China Doll in the documentary was imprisoned and both characters were later released.
The lawsuit alleged that both Empire and Bigger Than Big featured the killing of four drug dealers and both included the use of a round table.
Empire was a breakout mid-season hit for Fox and its season one finale in mid-March drew 16.7 million viewers.
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