Fame, fortune, and lawsuits go hand in hand and when you’re as wealthy and famous as Oprah Winfrey, you realize it’s just another day in the life of, to go along with the many other intense factors that come with the price of greatness. With that said, here’s the latest in the lawsuit that a pastor and another woman have filed against Oprah’s Own Network for it’s series, “Greenleaf.”
Why They’re Suing Oprah
Back in April 2018, a pastor and associate came to believe that Oprah had jacked them outta their idea for a TV series they’d pitched to the OWN Network a while back. According to The Blast, court docs state that the accusers’ show idea, “Justice & Glory,” was centered around a ‘White athiest U.S. senator investigating a world-famous leader of an international megachurch.’ OWN Network’s “Greenleafe” is about an African American returning back home to her family -who happens to own a Black megachurch in Memphis- following the passing of her sister.
Here’s why the two accusers are suing Oprah though:
Via TMZ- A screenwriter named Shannan Lynette Wynn and a pastor she teamed up with to create a TV drama called “Justice & Glory” claim they met with Oprah’s team at OWN in fall 2014 and pitched their idea … and got great feedback. According to the docs … they were lured by OWN for more ideas and versions of their pitch, but eventually got cut off. Years later, they claim “Greenleaf” premiered and featured the exact same characters and storylines from their original pitch.
In addition to accusing Oprah and OWN of stealing their show idea, the pastor and Wynn also accused ABC of secretly joining forces with Oprah, to help her steal from them. How so? Well, according to the accusers, they also pitched their show idea to ABC, but were rejected by that network as well, which they now believe was done so Oprah could instead launch her “Greenleaf” series.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlDtovvHXZ4/
Oprah’s Response
Fast forward to today, and Oprah has responded to their lawsuit and pretty much told them ‘to hell with whatever they’re talkin ’bout’…not in those words of course, but y’all get it. Here’s what was reported:
Via The Blast– Oprah describes the suit as “frivolous,” and says the people who filed it “either do not understand copyright law or are pursuing it not withstanding its manifest lack of merit.” […] Oprah admits both shows feature a megachurch and the family that runs it, but that’s where the similarities end. She also denies that anyone on her producing team was aware that the other project even existed, and wants the case thrown out immediately.
Following her classy clap-back to the lawsuit she calls “frivolous,” we can only imagine that Oprah’s chillin’ in her home, or on a private jet somewhere, giving zero you-know-what’s about it. After all, it was Oprah, who in a February 2018 interview with In Style Magazine, announced that these days she no longer takes any sh*t – her words, not ours. The 64 year old billionaire let fans know how she really gets down behind the scenes, by keepin’ it raw and uncensored, as she explained her theory of reaching the take-no-sh*t zone, she’s currently in:
“You take no s**t. None. Not a bit. In your 40’s you want to say you take no s**t, but you still do. In your 60s, you take none. There’s both a quickening and a calming—there’s a sense that you don’t have as much time on earth as you once did. For me, there’s also a sense of calming about that. People coming with anything less than what is the truth or authentic? Don’t even try.” -Oprah Winfrey
And BOOM…drops mic, exits stage left.
