There are important issues to discuss in the world today, and one of them involves Tatyana Ali suing The Real for allegedly stealing her idea for the show.
Yes! Ashley from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. properties on Monday, claiming she conceived the idea for a talk show with “a unique and innovative format, which featured an eclectic group of engaging female celebrity hosts, each aged within their 20’s and 30's,” the lawsuit states. Her show was also allegedly “designed to pique the interest of the younger side of the mid-life/mid-career female population and featured a variety of contemporary discussion topics in a relaxed and informal setting.”
Perhaps it sounds familiar because it could be any of the dozen talk shows that have aired in the past decade. But according to Deadline, Ali (who’s pregnant and recently got married, congrats) claims she pitched the idea in a 2012 meeting with TV execs Hilary Estes McLoughlin and Sheila Bouttier, months before The Real premiered on Fox with Tamar Braxton, Adrienne Bailon, Tamera Mowry, Loni Love and Jeannie Mai as hosts. The suit claims Ali “witnessed [her] concept come to life on major network television at the hands of the Defendant Corporations.”
The lawsuit reads in part:
“The five female host panel cast members very closely embody and mirror the personal and professional profiles of the specific and potential female celebrity hosts openly proposed in writing and in discussion by the Plaintiff during ‘pitch’ meetings she held with the Executives. The Defendant Corporations did not at any time, directly or indirectly, acknowledge the use of the Plaintiff’s Concept.”
Ali is seeking damages, including “designated percentages of the proceeds resulting from past, current and future production and airing of The Real television program.”
Image via Getty