Fox’s mega-hit series Empire has clapped back after a man filed a $1 billion lawsuit under claims that producers, writers and even actor Terrence Howard stole his story.

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According to The Jasmine Brand Wednesday, the network is pushing for the court to throw out the case filed by the man, Ron Newt, who describes himself as a “gangster, pimp and drug dealer” and even a “ghetto player.”

Apparently he finds there are too many similarities between his life and that of Lucious Lyon (Howard) to consider it all a coincidence.

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So he believes he is owed a ten-figure payout from the creator Lee Daniels and Howard. He also wants a cease-and-desist in order to take the show off the air.

But of course Fox is saying absolutely not. They stated their own case back on May 22. They said for starters, Newt failed to copyright the story so that alone should be cause for dismissal, even if there are similarities. They want a judge to grant him absolutely nothing in the case.

Newt, who is actually close with the infamous Jacksons, said that he told Howard about his upcoming documentary called Bigger Than Big. He wanted Howard to play him, but said Howard instead took the story and now it’s the popular show Empire.

In the meantime, Empire broke tons of records during its debut season earlier this year. It’s set to come back to Fox on Sept. 22. Keep up with Enstars for news on the series and the case.

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Empire Show, Television, Fox