Former N.W.A manager sues over ‘Straight Outta Compton’
In this Aug. 14, 2006 file photo, music industry veteran Jerry Heller is photographed in New York’s Central Park. Heller, the former manager of N.W.A., filed a defamation lawsuit on Friday, Oct. 30, 2015, in Los Angeles against rappers Ice Cube and Dr. Dre and NBCUniversal, alleging the film “Straight Outta Compton” portrayed him as a villain and has done lasting damage to his reputation. The movie released in August 2015. AP File Photo
LOS ANGELES, United States—The former manager of the pioneering rap group N.W.A has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit over the movie “Straight Outta Compton,” claiming the summer hit portrays him as a “sleazy, dishonest thief.”
Jerry Heller is seeking $110 million dollars in damages in the lawsuit filed on Friday in Los Angeles against the film’s producers, the artists who were the subjects of the biopic and others connected with the film.
“Straight Outta Compton” charts the creation of the hugely successful hip-hop group N.W.A and its eventual demise.
“Everyone who sees that movie would come away with a notion that Jerry Heller is a sleazy, dishonest thief and his behavior was the reason the group broke up,” Heller’s attorney Michael Shapiro told AFP.
“The movie is a huge global success and ironically, as the movie becomes more successful, the damages Jerry become greater.”
According to the lawsuit, Heller met rappers Eazy E, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube in the late 1980s and the trio, along with other rappers, subsequently formed N.W.A, an abbreviation of Niggaz Wit Attitudes.
Heller was the group’s manager and was portrayed in the movie by actor Paul Giamatti.
The group, which broke up after the release of their last album in 1991, has helped launch that befall Jerry become greater.”
According to the lawsuit, Heller met rappers Eazy E, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube in the late 1980s and the trio, along with other rappers, subsequently formed N.W.A, an abbreviation of Niggaz Wit Attitudes.
Heller was the group’s manager and was portrayed in the movie by actor Paul Giamatti.
The group, which broke up after the release of their last album in 1991, has helped launch the careers of Ice Cube and Dr. Dre and brought gangsta rap into the mainstream.
Shapiro said his client has had a tough time since the movie, which has earned nearly $200 million worldwide, came out portraying him as a villain.
“He’s trying to continue in the music business but it’s very hard with this hanging over his head,” Shapiro said.
Heller is seeking $35 million in monetary damages, $75 million in exemplary damages and restitution of profits from the summer blockbuster.
Representatives for NBC Universal, Ice Cube and others named in the suit could not be immediately reached for comment.
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