The woman who inspired Jennifer Lopez's character in Hustlers, Samatha Barbash, is suing Lopez's production company for $40 million, TMZ reports.
Although Lopez is not named in the lawsuit, Barbash claims that the actress's production company, Nuyorican Productions, used her likeness and story without her consent. Although she says that producers approached her about signing off on the movie, they went ahead with production without her consent.
Barbash first voiced her concerns in September, when she told TMZ that she wasn't impressed by the deal Nuyorican offered her so she decided not to work with the studio.
"They pretty much basically stole my story," Barbash said. "I wouldn't sign my rights away... I wasn't giving up my TV and film rights for peanuts. J. Lo doesn't work for free. Why would I? I'm a businesswoman."
Barbash's lawsuit also accuses the studio of portraying her in a negative light by suggesting she was "using and manufacturing illegal substances in her home where she lived with her child." As a result, she's seeking $20 million in compensatory damages and $20 million in punitive damages for a sum of $40 million from the production company. Additionally, she wants the producers to turn over all copies of the movie.
Lopez meanwhile, is likely to earn an Oscar nomination for her work in the movie, which has been both a critical and commercial success since its release.
