MO'NIQUE AND VH1 GETTING SUED OVER THE SHOW CHARM SCHOOL...


 







April 06, 2007. MediaTakeOut.com has learned that Mo'Nique and VH1 are about to be sued for stealing the idea behind the new series Charm School. A few weeks ago lawyers for a woman named Drew Sidora sent over a cease and desist letter. And apparently they're ready to sue.

We know all about cease and desist letters - angry celeb's send them to us once or twice a week. Here's the full text of the letter sent to Mo'Nique and VH1:

VH1
1633 Broadway, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10019
Attention: Legal Affairs

RE: Drew Sidora - "Ghetto Fabulous"

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We represent Drew Sidora and her affiliated entities. VH1's new reality television series "Charm School" (the "Series") is a blatant infringement of Ms. Sidora's copyrighted reality television project "Ghetto Fabulous" (the "Project").

Ms. Sidora and her manager, Allison Jordan, together with Charles Sims, prepared a treatment (the "Treatment") for the Project, which they registered with the Writers Guild of America on February 19, 2004 and again on April 8, 2004. In early 2005, Ms. Jordan and Corliss King pitched the Project and submitted the Treatment to Stacey Jenkins at VH1. Ms. Jordan and Ms. King described the Project as a reality show about "Ghetto Fabulous" girls who are taught proper etiquette and transformed from ghetto to glamorous. Ms. Jordan and Ms. King spoke with Ms. Jenkins on multiple separate occasions over the course of more than a year, setting forth many potential story ideas and scenarios.

Although Ms. Jenkins unequivocally indicated to Ms. Jordan and Ms. King that VH1 genuinely liked the concept and told them that VH1 intended to pursue the Project, Ms. Jordan and Ms. King did not hear from Ms. Jenkins or anyone else at VH1 again. Ms. Sidora therefore presumed that VH1 had elected not to pursue the development of the Project.

In light of the foregoing, Ms. Sidora, Ms. Jordan, Ms. King and Mr. Sims were shocked and outraged last week when for the first time they saw the promotional segments for the Series. VH1’s description of the Series reads like the description of the Project. Specifically, VH1 describes the Series as a reality series about "ghetto fabulous" girls who are enrolled in a charm school and thereby transformed from ghetto to glamorous.

VH1’s liability under copyright and tort law is clear. It is undisputed that VH1 had extensive access to the Project. Moreover, based on the overwhelming substantial similarities between the Project and the Series, a reasonable person would conclude that the Series is a blatant misappropriation of the Project.

Accordingly, Ms. Sidora demands that VH1 immediately cease and desist from any further development, production, distribution and any other exploitation of the Series, and confirm to us in writing not later than April 1, 2007 that VH1 has done so. In addition, VH1 must compensate Ms. Sidora for the illegal and infringing use of the Project and the loss of opportunity to produce the Project as a television series. If VH1 fails so to comply, our client will protect her rights by aggressively pursuing legal and equitable remedies against VH1, including asserting claims for copyright infringement, breach of implied contract, breach of confidence, interference with prospective economic advantage, and unfair competition—claims that carry significant compensatory and punitive damages as well as injunctive relief.

This letter is not intended to be a complete recitation of the relevant facts of this matter. Furthermore, nothing contained herein shall be deemed a waiver of our client’s rights or remedies, either at law or in equity, all of which are hereby expressly reserved.


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COMMENTS:

    yolioli
    oh..my!!
     

    2cexee4u
    tsk tsk tsk...
     

    sexyazzred
    I actually wanna see this show...Imma need them to resolve this ASAP!
     

    ChocCookie
    HAHAH OH WELL, EVERYBODY PLAYS THE FOOL SOMETIMES. VH1 YALL KNOW YALL WRONG.
     

    missnellypoo
    I BET YOU IT STILL AIRS.
     

    hny05m
    I don't know about any got damn Drew Sidora, and I don't wanna see her [EXPLETIVE]! I know about Mo'Nique and her ass is funny as hell. I would like to see her show, so that bitch needs to step off!
     

    KPBKENY
    Was that the best picture to find
      ---------------
    Any thing worth doing is worth doing wel

    sosincere
    Im sayin.....I wit you kpbkeny. They KNOW they did not have to put that picture of Mo'Nique up there! But since she claim she so happy to be ridiculously overweight it is what it is.
     

    ShaeRene
    Ol girl knows the show is gonna air...no one is pulling it this close to the series premeire. She's dumb the concept may be the same but dang 2004? The Flavor of Love Girls are hilarious where was that in her ideas????? She's an idiot! She needs to just take it to another network b/c stupid copies of [EXPLETIVE] play on different networks all the time!!
     

    BAGSOFSTYLE
    Drew Sidora needs money
     

    cheeky
    Drew Sidora is that chick on the movie Step Up

    http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0796676/
     

    nglaze
    This could actually be true. I'm not sure about the "letter" though.

    Check out my homeboy's page: http://www.myspace.com/davidjohnsonthegrain
     

    iluv2boyz
    I hope this gets resolved before the premiere cause I'm geared to see it.

    The letter was way too long for me to read. I get the picture from the subject heading.
     

    ladytee35
    who in the hell would stake some common sense claim to this foolishness? lol
      ---------------
    Same Toilet Different SH*T!

    MsStarStatus82
    Drew Sidora...uh oh looks like someone else is about to get sued. CW's show "The Game" had a chick on there who was playing a singer named "Drew Sidora"...is this a real person?
      ---------------
    Pretty is a STRONG word, use it wisely!

    LETTAHURST
    Although the picture mto choose to post of Mo'Nique may not be the best. I Love Mo'Nique she reps for the big girls and she lets the world know that beauty does not only come in sizes 5,7,9. I know the show will be a hit..
     

    spursfan1
    monique needs to cease and desist from eating so damn much
      ---------------
    99030507

    THAT_WORD
    WWW.PUTYOURSELFOUT.NET


    it happens all the time!


    WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/PYOINC
     

    MiznewGtBootie
    i dont care who made diz show i juz want 2 watch it dat sh!t look made stupid and funny lol
     

    Young
    dat shyt should be sued jus 4 bein so fake...
     

    mscreative1
    LOL..Damn!!!
    www.myspace.com/mscreative101
      ---------------
    myspace.com/mscreative101

    Auriel
    MsStarStatus...I was thinking the same thing!!!! The name sound sooo familiar, and it took me a minute but I put my finger on it.
     

    tricknice
    MsStarStatus82--- Yes, Drew Sidora is a real person. She played herself on The Game. She also played as Marlon Wayan's wife's friend in White Chicks.
     

    EarthWindFire82
    Well hell!

    Interesting.
      ---------------
    MySpace.com/EarthWindFire82

    drburke
    Speaking of the BIG GIRL REP, Monique, I saw her talk about this on the Tavis Smiley show. She visited a woman's prison. She reminded them that they are important and that everyone makes mistakes, so don't question their validity and who they really are, and have to offer this world. The possibility that anyone of us could/would be sitting where they are is very real and they should not feel isolated in their thinking or society's reactions to their situations. She told them to keep their heads up and not to forget that there are many, many people that wish them well and only want the best for them. ON THE OTHER HAND.....
    She also used this visit to record an upcoming CD, that reflects on this visit. This part of the story was repulsive to me. If she was so REAl as she would have everyone believe, she would have never made such a speech to these women and turn around and use their plight to make someone laugh. I've personally always felt Monique was a phoney and used the BIG GIRL HOOK, to appeal to a particular group of people. Monique is a phoney and a liar. After her many, many image jokes, she tried to lose weight under the guise of helping someone else lose, SHOWING THEM HOW, yeah right. If anyone saw her on the United Negro College Funds, tribute to Aretha Franklin, it was obvious she HAD lost weight. A BIG GIRL confident in her weight would never do this, but MONIQUE needed to identify with someone or something and she choose the only thing she couldn't hide, HER WEIGHT. Let me tell you this, all of these women who say that skinny girls are evil, act stuck up, nobody wants a bone but a dog. Should be there when their men look at me. Signed Evil Size Six.
     

    ebonyhippy
    Drew Sidora is the girl from the show THE GAMe the singer girl
     

    kakani
    wow
     

    I_LOVE_I_AM
    Just b/c a big girl wants to loose a couple extra pounds...doesn't mean she loves her excess baggage any less or is a phoney...maybe she just wanted to fit into a new pair of jeans she bought or something, I've done it b4...she's still a big girl...now, until she pulls a Star Jones, to me she's still the same ole 'skinny (blanks) are evil' chick she was from day one. A few lbs don't make a difference

    and LOL @ KPBKENY
     

    Scanalyzer
    Mo Nique should change her name to Mo'Fat or Mo' Cholesterol or Mo'chance of crushin yo foot if she step on u.

    homegirl look like a brown pinata in that pic i bet if u stick a pin in her and pull it back out it'd be soaked in chicken grease and digested tootsie rolls
     

    beautifulb
    OH WELL [EXPLETIVE] HAPPENS!!!
     

    JamaicanLady
    WELcome to the AMERiCAN Way S_C_R_E_W YOU SUE!! LMAO
     

    focus
    Television stations and celebs steal other ideas all the time and usually get away with it. Did anyone hear the woman's song (beats like Billie Jean) she wrote and said Michael Jackson stole it. I heard it during the court proceeding and the melody to that song sounded exactly like Billie Jean. How the judge sided with Michael was due to nothing but his celebrity.

    Also, another writer came forward after Roots came out and proved that Alex Hailey had lifted excerpts from her book. I believe he died before anything was done and I never heard another word about. She had transcripts and everything.

    The public gets so caught up in celebrity hits/successes that we ignore the little people when they come forward.

    There have been many stolen ideas by agents, TV stations and managers of celebrities. That's why some stations say not to send unsolicited material now. I know I wouldn't.
     

    focus
    Dr. Burke: Oh my. I'm disappointed to hear that Monique turned that situation into a joke. What was that to joke about?

    Also, I've always felt that Monique uses that "Big Girl" public confidence as a secret pain. She talks about "skinny" girls and cookbooks about eating all the fat way too much to sincerely feel this way. It's become her theme.

    This is one of the reasons the public turned on Star Jones. She used the confident "Big Girl", proud of her size on The View daily. In the mean time, Star forgot to tell the public she secretly had gastric bypass until Rosie O'Donnell outed her secret. After Star's humiliating outing, she started back tracking and saying that she had "medical intervention" (still wouldn't fess up to gastric bypass) due to health problems. Yeah, right Star. This is why Joy Behar cracks that Star is the "skinny b*tch" now. Joy was angry with Star after all of this happened because she feigned that she loved being huge and Star didn't tell her the whole story.
     

    MsDee
    Who cares? And furthermore, If Mo Nique being whatever size she is offends someone then you have major issues. You all take too much stock in to celebrities personal lives. You make comments as if you know these people personally...and as ive said before..She fat all the way to the bank. It's always the skinnier women that have negative comments about MoNique. She has her things to say and she says them. She don't have a problem finding a man or getting gigs so obviously her weight is not an issue.
    You can be proud to be who you are and still recognize the need for health. This is no way takes away from your pride in who you are. If anything, if a person is big and is proud of who they are, and in turn looses weight to increase their quality of life, this should be seen as true love for themselves because they are doing something to be healthier.
    You all talk about a person for being big and when they loose weight you talk about them for that too.
     

    Felipe
    That is a horrible picture of Monique
     

    NIKTHERULER
    Drew Sidora is a up and coming singer from Baltimore, MD I beleive.
     

    kia16
    I BET IT STILL GON BE ON T.V.
    I ACTUALLY WANT TO SEE THIS SHOW..
      ---------------
    www.myspace.com/getlikemebitch

    QuikSanity
    I agree with you I_LOVE_I_AM! DrBurke, on the other hand... Some of what you said may be true, but size 6 is not the average size, nor is it the most desired. Men always want what they dont or can't have..so just b/c they were eyeballing you, means nothing, dear. And I'm a proud size 12, standing 5'6. :)
     

    QuikSanity
    MsDee, you tell em girl!!!!
     

    SuperStar91
    All y'all need to go on...Drew Sidora is an up and coming star from Chicago, IL (Chi-Town Princess) She is just stickin' up for what she created and is not gonna let Mo'Nique's fat ass try and claim it as hers. Besides what the hell does Mo'nique's ghetto fabulous ass know about teaching someone about etiquette?! VH1 knows they're wrong.
     

    BigTerribleTexas
    I'm sure the show is still going to air. And Monique is going to make serious cash from it. And really MTO yall are wrong for that pic. Not funny at all.
     

    drburke
    All Yall. How can Ghetto refine Ghetto? I never said Monique had a problem with her weight, I said if she was as secure as she seems to be with her weight, why all this knock on smaller women. Her size is hers, mine is mine. I find it fascinating, how men (yes that's were all this size matter [EXPLETIVE] comes from) Decided what size, boody, [EXPLETIVE], legs, eye, lips were attractive and then the women started comparing each other and hating on the aspects of another woman. Don't get me wrong I've taken some hits myself, but I haven't turn the issue in a montra. However, I do know this, most clothing manufactures (I've been in the business) prefer to purchase smaller sizes, lets face it billions of fashion magazines are sold with representative of smaller figures. No, not stick figures, but smaller figures and with all this talk about thick, full figures,thick and fabulous, somebody's lying. Representatives of this such as Beyonce is not considered thick, she's considered sexy. Her booty may be larger but the rest of her body is quite in proportion. The fashion industry is worth billions of dollars and they promote smaller, not skinny figures, sure the models are skinny, but they must be doing something right, the clothes sell like hot cakes. So while I don't agree with Monique (and I'm sure she may not agree with me) don't get it twisted. I can live with all and any of it. Just don't try to make me feel strange about my size and I won't try to make you feel strange about yours. I don't use every opportunity I have to berate another womans size, she does, and why is that? My response to MTO is just that a response.
     

    drburke
    All Yall. How can Ghetto refine Ghetto? I never said Monique had a problem with her weight, I said if she was as secure as she seems to be with her weight, why all this knock on smaller women. Her size is hers, mine is mine. I find it fascinating, how men (yes that's were all this size matter [EXPLETIVE] comes from) Decided what size, boody, [EXPLETIVE], legs, eye, lips were attractive and then the women started comparing each other and hating on the aspects of another woman. Don't get me wrong I've taken some hits myself, but I haven't turn the issue in a montra. However, I do know this, most clothing manufactures (I've been in the business) prefer to purchase smaller sizes, lets face it billions of fashion magazines are sold with representative of smaller figures. No, not stick figures, but smaller figures and with all this talk about thick, full figures,thick and fabulous, somebody's lying. Representatives of this such as Beyonce is not considered thick, she's considered sexy. Her booty may be larger but the rest of her body is quite in proportion. The fashion industry is worth billions of dollars and they promote smaller, not skinny figures, sure the models are skinny, but they must be doing something right, the clothes sell like hot cakes. So while I don't agree with Monique (and I'm sure she may not agree with me) don't get it twisted. I can live with all and any of it. Just don't try to make me feel strange about my size and I won't try to make you feel strange about yours. I don't use every opportunity I have to berate another womans size, she does, and why is that? My response to MTO is just that a response.
     

    mochamommy
    LMAO @ spursfan1
     

    Yve
    We all have ideals.....this was an ideal of mine three years written into a grant (culture exposure).....thousands of people have ideals....its all comes down to who get theirs done firts.

    The rechargable tv remote with call button....my ideal 2 years ago....I saw it in the stores last month...many people have the same thoughts...
     

    SuperStar91
    Drew Sidora had the "idea" first...The point is it was stolen from her.
     

    Yve
    If the "IDEAL" is not copywritten.....then its just that....."a ideal".....
     

    focus
    Ms. Dee: No one said Monique's size offends anyone. At least I didn't read that. The public obviously cares about the truth though. If they didn't, so many wouldn't have turned against Star Jones when she was on The View. Her ratings plummeted after her famous "I'm a proud Big Girl" then miraculously lost all that weight by going AROUND the truth (gastric bypass fiasco). I'ts one thing to tell the public, I'm proud to be this, I'm proud to be that and blah, blah, blah but when it's discovered there were some lies mixed into it, that's another ballgame. Does Brandy's story of being married ring a bell to you? Her fame has been down the drain since her ex came forward and told about the fake marriage concocted by Brandy and her mother.

    I don't pretend to know any of these celebs but if I happen to catch them discussing issues that reflect society, I kinda empathize with them.
     

    drburke
    Focus. How are you? I see you on the threads quite often and always respond to your ideas, likes and dislikes of my opinions, it's great. I've always enjoyed a semi-warm arguement and you always supply just that. This time I think we were pretty much on the same page, but if not so what. Keep being you and I'll do me. Thanks alot for standing up to me. It ain't easy. Luv Ya Much D.
     

    Trish
    Drew Sidora is a real person. She favors Megan Good ALOT!! She is a singer/Actress she was the wife's friend in White Chicks Chicago Native.

    I believe that she pitched her add but at the time there was no need to actually use it. No one was going for the ghetto shows until Flavor of Love. Which then brought ratings unheard of. What better way then to keep the ball rolling then to use the females again. The females are game have u went on VH1 and seen Boots new house. They already had an idea one that was brought to them 3years ago but to make it look different we will add Monique and the flavor of love girls. Play that girl her idea her money
     

    brooklynisis
    How and why is Monique even in the position to host a show called "Charm School"?!?!?! Is she a foremost quintessential expert on decorum, grace and class and can teach etiquette? Uh...
     

    brooklynisis
    Oh and Trish that was not Boots' house... if you watched that segment in its entirety, you would have heard her say one room was her Mom's... Most likely her PARENT'S house... My parent's house looks the same.
     

    realwoman
    This is what I don't understand...we are talking about a stolen idea. How did this turn into a big girl vs. little girl thang (and who threw the first stone..hmm)?
      ---------------
    Remind ‘em of who they are !!!

    kharings
    I have a hard time believing Monique is the spokesperson for etiquette. The chick actually admits that she has an "open" marriage - one where her husband f*cks everything in sight, and she "trusts" him to tell her about it.

    She needs to work on her self-esteem before she attempts to counsel others.
     

    blue912892
    MO'NIQUE IS A HOT MESS
    WITH HER CRISPY FRIED HAIR
    HEAD SHAPED LIKE A EGG MCMUFFIN'














































    .
     

    chris-brown-girl
    wat that's crazy they just got to ruion the good [EXPLETIVE]
     

    chris-brown-girl
    a girl that [EXPLETIVE] bout mo'nique not funny an dont say u wont tryin to b funny cause i can tell u were
     

    iamhere2letUhaveit
    .....Oh please, ain't nobody suing Mo'nique..... simply because she is not credited in any way for the creation of this program, the creation is TOTALLY on the behalf of VH1 AND whomever they stole the idea from, Mo'nique was only asked to participate or star in CS and she accepted, just like she accepted to do the "Apollo" 4 years ago....Mo'nique's name in this QUESTIONABLE tale of theft and retaliation is just to pre-hype the show.....CAN ANYBODY SAY RATINGS BONANZA?
     

    im_a_ten
    OK, So the chick had an "idea". She didn't do sh*t with it an now she's mad cause monique has the resources to do it? Nah...she needs to get over it. Stolen ideas unfortunately are the American way.
     

    DJ_LAW
    CAN WE SAY "CHA-CHING" IM SORRY BUT VH1 IS NOT GOING TO TAKE THAT SHOW OFF THE AIR. THOSE FLAVA OF LOVE CHICKS MADE VH1 TO MUCH MONEY TO LET A NOBODY RUIN THAT SHOW. THEY ARE JUST GOING TO PAY HER SOME HUSH MONEY AND MOVE ON WITH BUSINESS.....NEXT
      ---------------
    "FRONTLINE ENTERTAINMENT"

    Fine_Chick
    I thought Drew was just a video hoe TRYING to portray herself as a actress. Hm.
     

    NewarkNword
    Welcome to the "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" Drew Sidora. Get in line, its gonna be fine, as long as you know that for every dollar you only gonna get a dime. Too bad it's Hollywood and not the hood, you can't just step to these crackheads like they dipped in ya stash.
     

    tawandaful1
    i too think that mo'nique is a fake. i had a run in with her a few years back in an incident where she was in town to do a radio interview and we had a mexican comedian appearing at our casino with the same name. She is very arrogant and has a very nasty personality. Every since the incident, i find it hard to find humor in anything that she does because nothing is funny about a grown a@# woman acting a fool without all the facts. I'm just glad her career has begun to catch up with her ego and her weight
     

    blackman187
    I love Mo'nique, so I hope the show is success, so tell BOOTZ, and SERIOUS 2 call me, uknow who the is...
     

    DreDog
    Bootz did say that was HER house...How you know her momma maybe be living wit her....that can be true too...Regardless Bootz' house was nice as hell. Hottie's mansion was slamming too.
      ---------------
    The Bytch ya love ta hate!

    Rin246
    Her mom in the master bedroom. That was her momma house!!!

    This show make grown ass woman look stupid!!!
     

    SAPHIRE
    mto stop making shet up.dont believe u this time monique may be a fat azz and hate skinny woman but she aint business stupid nor is vh-1 or flav.come again
      ---------------
    tellin it the way it is

    shonn
    i saw "charm school" and i like the drama with the flava of love girls. did the letter mention getting the flav of love girls or just a handful of ghetto fabolous girls. there is a difference. always some bs
     


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