Lee Daniels pays up, settles suit with Damon Dash
One of the funnier viral videos of 2018 came when Damon Dash, the producer and former right-hand man of Jay-Z, ran up on Lee Daniels during a Diana Ross concert and demanded that Daniels pay back the $2 million he fronted him years ago.
The tensions later escalated to where Dash sued Daniels for $5 million, which included interest and lost profits. According to TMZ, Daniels and Dame have settled matters and dropped the suit as well as agreed to pay their own lawyer fees.
Dame loaned him the $2 million to fund 2005’s Shadowboxer, well before Daniels created a portfolio of projects including Empire. It was done under the idea that he would pay him back later on down the line.
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When Daniels didn’t pay Dame back, he eventually confronted Daniels during the concert earlier this year. Subsequently, Dame filed a lawsuit for $5 million for interest and lost profits.
“No, no, no, no, I need to know what are we doing about this? ‘Cause we about to issue another lawsuit and I’m going public with it,” Dame says in the video. “As a black man, I gave you money that you needed, so how you not gonna give me my money?”
Dame told TMZ that he was happy with how it was settled but did not disclose the settlement amount.
“I’m good,” he said. “Just happy 2 people from the culture could work things out.”
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In June, Daniels told TMZ that he thought the money was an “investment,” but not a loan. He did say, however, that he planned to pay the man back.
“After my unprecedented Academy Award with Halle Berry, nobody was giving me money,” Daniels said. “Damon’s crazy ass was crazy enough to give me money for The Woodsman and for Shadowboxer.
“He believed in me the nobody else did, and for that he deserves it,” Daniels added. “This black man gave me money when nobody would.”
