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Lawsuit claims Tyler Perry plagiarized DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN

November 22nd, 2008 by Scott Marks

Donna West has filed a lawsuit claiming that actor, screenwriter and performance artist/drag queen Tyler Perry’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman was “borrowed” from an original story she wrote entitled Fantasy of a Black Woman back in November 1990.

The lawsuit was filed against Perry in U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas on May 21, 2007. It names Tyler Perry individually, his production company Tyler Perry Studios, and mother ship Lionsgate Entertainment.

KSLA News-12 in Shreveport quotes the lawsuit as saying West obtained a copyright for her story in March 2006. Diary of a Mad Black Woman was released in February 2005. Perry’s lawyers insist West has no legal ground because she did not register her work until after the alleged infringement.

Ms. West is seeking damages plus profits made by Perry in the movie. If she wins, she could be in for a major payday. Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which cost a little over $5 million to produce, went on to become a surprise hit with a domestic total gross of $50,633,099.

DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN (2005)

Seeing the term “intellectual property” and Diary of a Mad Black Woman mentioned in the same lawsuit produced a cough-inducing belly laugh. While Mr. Perry’s “property” has grown to support its own cottage industry, there is nothing even remotely “intellectual” about it. Read my review here.

Opening arguments in the case are set for December 3rd at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Marshall.

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Tyler Perry has a Stalker!

April 17th, 2008 by Scott Marks

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Judging by the simple-minded nature of his films, I’m surprised that Tyler Perry attracts an audience let alone a stalker. According to his website, the cross-dressing comedian behind such lucrative drivel as Diary of a Mad Black Woman and Meet the Browns is being hounded by an over zealous enthusiast.

Mr. Perry writes, “I’m trying to be careful how I say this without inciting this person, but I have a stalker. This person sends several hundred emails a day to my office and has planned our wedding and bought rings and such. She has showed up at my house several times. What’s crazy is I’ve never met this woman nor have I even responded to her emails. I’ve had to increase the guards at my house as well as travel with body guards and I hate that. I hate to have big guys following me around. Anyway I’ll try to keep this positive. Let me breathe…”

What with all the black guys dressing up as fat women, surely the stalker would be better off pursuing genuine talents like Eddie Murphy or Martin Lawrence.

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