Hustlers starring Jennifer Lopez, Cardi B, Lili Reinhart, Constance Wu and Lizzo among several others, which had hit the big screens in September last year, has landed in a legal soup. The film chronicled around the lives of a group of New York-based strippers and how they drugged their clients to steal their credit cards eventually. However, real-life stripper Samantha Barbash, who inspired Jennifer Lopez’s character, has raised objection with the makers for defaming her and failing to uphold her civil rights.
In fact, Samantha has also sued the film studio STX with a whopping $40 million. Samantha received five years of probation after she pleaded guilty over conspiracy, assault and grand larceny. It was in the month of September that Barbash’s lawyers issued a letter to STX, wherein they claimed that she never received her due payment for permitting them to depict her life story on the big screen. They even threatened to sue to the studio if they failed to fulfill the deal. (ALSO READ - Jennifer Lopez Almost Did Not Wear Iconic Grammys Dress That Invented Google Image; Here’s What Changed Her Mind)
An excerpt from Samantha’s lawsuit read, “Defendants attempted to obtain a consent and waiver from Ms. Barbash for the production of the film and their ultimate portrayal of the plaintiff therein. However, Ms. Barbash refused to give her consent or waive any of her privacy rights. Nonetheless with blatant disregard for their lack of authority and/or consent, defendants proceeded to exploit Ms. Barbash’s likeness and character for the film and the promotion thereof.”
A spokesperson from STK stated that the studio is yet to see the legal complaint filed by Samantha and added, “We will continue to defend our right to tell factually based stories based on the public record.”
image source: youtube