Damon Dash is taking Lee Daniels to court, again.
The Roc-A-Fella records mogul filed a $5 million breach of contract lawsuit Tuesday claiming Daniels screwed him out of a co-executive producer credit on a biopic about comedian Richard Pryor, and 5 percent of the profits after the film’s release.
According to court documents obtained by Deadline, the suit says Daniels exited the project before the film was made and skipped out on his financial obligations.
“Plaintiff is entitled to a judgment, directing Defendants Lee and Lee Daniels Entertainment to pay to Plaintiff monetary damages in amount to be determined at trial, but estimated at no less than Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00), and issue any Producer credits and ownership rights to Plaintiff to which he may have heretofore been entitled,” the lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court says.
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Dash took his complaint to the courts after confronting Daniels earlier this month during a Diana Ross concert at the Hollywood Bowl.
The music mogul posted video of the encounter on Instagram, along with a scathing caption next to the video, which was also subtitled.
“I straight up loaned this dude Lee Daniels @theoriginalbigdaddy 2 million to pay for his dream of being a director,” he wrote in the caption. “It was the money I was using to fund my movies and stay Indy…he promised I [sic] get my money back in months.”
Dash then said Daniels went on to have a ton of success with his critically-acclaimed movies and the television series Empire, but still refused to pay him back.
“Then he makes precious and goes missing so he doesn’t have to pay me…then then Butler…empire…same shit Why does this dude feel like he doesn’t have to pay me?…why do I have to look crazy to get my money back…or go to court,” he said.
Daniels appears stunned in the video and doesn’t deny he is in the wrong.
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It’s not the first time the two have tussled over money.
Dash sued Daniels for $25 million back in 2014 over $2 million he said he lent the director and producer. The new lawsuit stems from a settlement agreement they struck the following year.
That agreement promised Dash credit and a portion of the profits on the Richard Pryor biopic, which Daniels planned to direct.
The suit also claims Daniels later tried to change the settlement agreement with “thinly-veiled threats.”
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