The family of Marvin Gaye recently made headlines when they won a contentious legal battle over Robin Thicke’s hit song, “Blurred Lines.” Now, it appears a member of the family is getting ready to sue another celebrity for plagiarism: Lee Daniels.
TMZ reports that Marvin Gaye III, the son of Marvin Gaye, is claiming that Empire was his idea and plans to file a lawsuit targeting the hit Fox show.
Gaye allegedly registered a treatment for a television series titled Those Sons of Riches, or Diamonds and Ballads, with the Writers Guild of America back in 2010.
According to the report,
Gaye says the treatment describes a family in the music business — “a music based ‘black’ and ‘hip’ version of ‘Dynasty’ … with a little ‘Sopranos.'”
We’re told Gaye shopped the treatment around to TV execs and said it was loosely based on the lives of his legendary family and the Berry Gordy family.
Gaye insists the people in the industry with whom Lee Daniels associates received emails pitching his treatment.
And Gaye feels Daniels unwittingly fessed up in 2014 after “Empire” hit big, when he said, “I wanted to make a black ‘Dynasty.'” He also said it was similar to “The Sopranos.
After the Gaye family’s victory against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams, it appears the legendary singer’s youngest son is confident about his chances in court again. His lawyer tells TMZ, “We understand that three things can’t be hidden for long: the Sun, the Moon and the Truth!”
Below is a video of Gaye speaking about his previous high profile case on Entertainment Tonight.
