(EXCLUSIVE) Lee Daniels Denies Stealing ‘Empire’ in $1.5 Billion Lawsuit

Lee Daniels

theJasmineBRAND.com exclusively reports, Lee Daniels has returned to court blasting the author accusing him of using his manuscript to create the hit show Empire and the director is demanding the entire $1.5 billion dollar lawsuit be thrown out of court, denying he stole anything from the man.

Last year, an author named Timothy Levi filed a federal lawsuit against Lee Daniels, producer Danny Strong and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. The complaint accused the trio of stealing the idea for their hit show ‘Empire’ from his 2007 manuscript entitled, “Unity Incorporated: The Mastermind”.

Empire Cast (Upfronts 2015)

Levi explained he gave a copy of his manuscript to a lawyer named Robert Walker. Then he claimed the lawyer shared it with producers Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, who he believed then stole his story and turned it into their Terrence Howard lead show.

He said that the show and his story had numerous similarities including it being centered on music and had characters involved in similar story lines as ‘Empire’.

He filed suit demanding $1.5 billion dollars in damages and an injunction against the network from continuing to air the show.

Then on May 6th, Daniels and his producing partner Danny Strong went to court blasting the allegations they stole the idea from the author and demanded the entire lawsuit be thrown out of court.

Daniels says that the man has shown no connection how he could have obtained the manuscript from the lawyer he claimed to have given a copy.

Chris Rock, Lee Daniels, Terrence Howard

Further, he says that the two works are not similar at all and are vastly different with their themes, storylines, characters and mood.

The famed director is asking the judge to dismiss the whole case and award the man nothing from his $1.5 billion complaint.

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