N.W.A. Music manager Jerry Heller is suing Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and other parties involved in the ‘Straight Outta Compton’ Film.
Heller says he was portrayed in the film according to the lawsuit
It claims the movie contained a litany of lies including the claim that Heller, 75, tricked Dr. Dre and Ice Cube into signing inferior contracts and that he once withheld a $75,000 check from Cube.
Heller joined rapper Eazy-E earlier in his rap career and helped shepherd N.W.A to superstardom before Eazy-E’s death in 1995, his lawyer Michael R. Shapiro said.
Via NYDailyNews
DR. DRE SUED BY HIGHLY PAID MAID
His portrayal by actor Paul Giamatti as deceptive and greedy in the summer blockbuster is nothing short of defamation, he said.
“This is a guy who’s been in the music business for six decades, and he still gets up every day and goes to work. And this film characterizes him as a sleazy thief. It’s so patently dishonest and inaccurate, he couldn’t let it go on,” Shapiro told The News.
“He and Eazy-E were like father and son, and depicting him as being fired by Eazy-E, indicting his loyalty and devotion and service, is anything but on the up and up,” Shapiro said.
Straight Outta Compton made up to nearly $200 million after it released in theaters on August 14th , making it the most successful music biopic of all time.
TMZ adds that Heller long planned on pursuing action against the film as he spent the film’s opening night at a screening where he sat in the front row with his legal team.
The civil lawsuit filed in Los Angeles also names NBC Universal, the estate of Eazy-E and Comptown Records on a long list of defendants.