'Empire' Season 2 Cast: Woman Hits Lee Daniels With $300 Million Lawsuit For Stealing Her Story To Create Cookie Lyon
Another day another lawsuit for Fox’s latest hit series Empire.
This time around, a woman claims that the network copied her real life story when writing the infamous Cookie Lyon character (played by Taraji P. Henson), Page Six reported Monday.
Sophia Eggleston of Detroit, Mich. has filed a lawsuit for $300 million against one of the creators and directors of the series, Lee Daniels.
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The 53-year-old woman claims that she was a “drug kingpin” who went to jail after she called out a “hit” on a man. She was convicted of manslaughter. She documented all of her biggest moments in her book The Hidden Hand.
She went as far as trying to bring her story to the big screen and went to Los Angles and spoke with screenwriter Rita Miller. She said she believes it was Miller who gave the idea to Daniels considering Miller vowed that she would be handing him the book.
Eggleston uses examples of why she thinks she is the inspiration behind Cookie.
She said Cookie is “similar in behavior, style of dress and background…” She adds that she was “dismayed to see the various similarities of events and characters…so numerous and specific, especially…Cookie Lyon, that independent creation was obviously impossible.”
She continues with, “Cookie was a drug kingpin that went to jail. So did plaintiff Eggleston. Cookie is released from jail confinement and immediately places a hit on a certain individual. Plaintiff…actually was jailed for doing the actual hit on a man.”
Still, the other brain behind the series, Danny Strong, said it was actually Jay Z’s story that brought on Empire.
The second season premieres Sept. 23 on Fox.
