Hustlers, real-life inspiration, Samantha Barbash is suing Jennifer Lopez’s Nuyorican Productions, in federal court in New York for benefiting from her image for the movie.
What We Know:
- According to a report from FOX Business, Samantha Barbash, the inspiration for the character Ramona, played by Jennifer Lopez, actually did not name the character in the case.
- In the lawsuit, Barbash addresses that she refused filmmakers’ attempts for her to waive her privacy rights. In brief, Barbash chose not to permit them to use her as an influence for the character.
- Moreover, the movie takes inspiration from the New York magazine 2015 article The Hustler Scores by Jessica Pressler. The article describes the real-life events of Barbash. Barbash was the leader of a group of adult dancers. In the article, they drugged their clients and stole enormous amounts of money from them while they were debilitated. Mentioned in the court papers is the New York magazine article.
- TMZ reported that Barbash disparaged their low payment offer and said Lopez “betrayed” her. And, she never contacted her privately for the movie depiction. Barbash told TMZ, “They pretty much basically stole my story. I wouldn’t sign my rights away. J Lo doesn’t work for free. Why would I? I’m a businesswoman… I have Hermes bags that cost more than they wanted to give me.” Ultimately, Barbash previously revealed to TMZ that she planned to take legal suit against the film.
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Hustlers brought in a substantial amount of $33.2 million on its open week in theaters. Today the movie is a box-office success drawing an amount of $156 million, from a start-up budget of $20 million.
