Gabrielle Union’s BET Lawsuit Defended by Hollywood Union, Entire ‘Being Mary Jane’ Cast Named

Gabrielle Union’s BET Lawsuit Defended by Hollywood Union

SAG-AFTRA is now involved with Gabrielle Union’s multi-million dollar lawsuit against BET over her Viacom-owned Being Mary Jane contract, according to a new report.

Mara Brock Akil, Gabrielle Union, Debra Lee

SAG-AFTRA, the Screen Actors Guild?American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, is an American labor union representing film and television principal and background performers, journalists, recording artists and radio personalities worldwide.

Reportedly, the union sent a grievance letter to Viacom, addressing BET’s treatment not just over Union, but the entire cast.

Richard Roundtree

They charge Viacom’s subsidiary Breakdown Productions with inappropriately trying to exercise contract options on the actress, actor Richard Roundtree and other Being Mary Jane cast members.

As previously reported, Season 4 is already in production on Season 4, however BET reportedly wanted to produce that cycle and Season 5 back-to-back, which resulted in lawsuit.

Gabrielle Union

The guild says that Union and all of the other regular cast members are under no obligation to participate in any such 10-episode fifth season.

The organization says,

any further production with the current cast, including Union, will only occur after negotiations for a further season option, an increase in their actors’ rate and immediate compensation of the difference in that rate from BMJ Season 4 to Season 5 is paid out. If Viacom’s BET and Breakdown Productions don’t agree, then the union says the next stage is the labor action of a formal arbitration – which is a whole thing unto itself, to put it mildly.

Reportedly, Union’s lawsuit was always intended not only for her but also for the benefit of her fellow Being Mary Jane cast members.

Union claimed in her $3 million breach of contract complaint that she only agreed to a 10-episode each Season 4 and Season 5 if she was given a break of around three months between the two cycles.

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