Very pregnant and recently engaged Tatyana Ali claims in the lawsuit filed that she not only came up with the concept of “The Real,” but she pitched the idea to Warner Bros. and Telepictures back in 2012.
According to the suit, they turned down her vision, but allegedly went forward with the show without her.
Deadline writes:
The suit claims Ali came up with an idea for a reality-based daytime 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 … 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.” The Real premiered in July 2013 for a test run on Fox-owned stations, featuring co-hosts Adrienne Bailon, Tamar Braxton, Loni Love, Jeannie Mai and Tamara Mowry.
“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 suit says. “The Defendant Corporations did not at any time, directly or indirectly, acknowledge the use of the Plaintiff’s Concept.” The show later was greenlighted for national syndication that fall and remains on the air and in renewed through 2018 in the spring.
The execs who were at that meeting in December 2012 were Hilary Estes McLoughlin, then-president of creative affairs at CBS Television Distribution, and Sheila Bouttier, who was SVP Development at Telepictures Productions. Both are named as defendants along with Warner Bros Entertainment, Warner Bros Domestic Television Distribution and Telepictures.
The suit seeks unspecified damages from “all rightful gains, profits, and advantages derived by the Defendants” and the formation of a collective trust for Ali of “designated percentages of the proceeds resulting from past, current and future production and airing of The Real television program.”
As unprofessional and ruthless as the people who fired Tamar have been, this sounds very believable.
It’s f-cked up if they did this sh-t.
But The Real is just the “urban” version of The View. I don’t think she’s going to win this.
She’s not suing for the format of the show (panel format). She’s suing because of the specific ideas they stole from her presentation. Specifically, her ideas for the hosts. I believe she has a case.
Mess. When it rains it pours.
But she came on the show though. Why would you agree to go on a show that was stolen from you?
If they did steal from her I hope she wins. I know a lot of black people have had their ideas stolen from major studios over the years.
Tatyana seems like a relatively smart person I don’t think she would sue unless she had some sort of proof or felt like she had a good chance. If they did steal her idea I do hope she wins.