
Florida pastor Lester Eugene Barrie and screenwriter Shannan Lynette Wynn are claiming that media mogul Oprah Winfrey stole their idea for the OWN network drama, Greenleaf.
Barrie and Wynn say they met with Winfrey’s team at OWN in fall 2014 to pitch a series titled, Justice & Glory.
The project did not go forward, but a few years later, OWN launched the black family/megachurch drama Greenleaf. Barrie and Wynn claim the show features exact characters and plot points from their original script.
The two also say they pitched the idea to ABC, and think the network worked with Winfrey to develop the allegedly stolen show. They are demanding hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.
OWN has yet to address the lawsuit.
Click here to read the official complaint filed in a U.S. District Court in California.
–BCNN1