With the third season of “World of Dance” currently airing on NBC, judge/exec producer Jennifer Lopez is now the defendant in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit that accuses her of stealing the idea for the show.
According to legal documents obtained by The Blast, Alvin Gray-El is suing the “Dinero” singer, 49, for $6.5 million due to his claim that he pitched the idea for the televised dance competition 10 years ago.
According to the suit, Gray-El is naming famed choreographer Debbie Allen (“Fame”) as a co-defendant — even though she has no association whatsoever with the show.
The suit alleges that Gray-El developed the idea for a TV dance competition called “Let’s Start the Dance” back in 2009, when he claims to have faxed a pitch letter to Allen’s production company in hopes she would produce the show; he never received a response.
Gray-El further claims that he subsequently registered the show with the U.S. Copyright Office, in 2010.
When Gray-El learned that JLo’s “World of Dance” was in development at NBC, he claims he attempted to contact the network to notify them of the show’s infringement on his copyright. Once again, he says he received no response.
The lawsuit, notes The Blast, offers no explanation as to how the idea made its way from Allen to Lopez, nor why Allen has no association or financial interest in the show.
Gray-El is seeking $5 million in damages and an additional $1.5 million punitive damages.
However, Page Six reports a source says that the origin of “World of Dance” comes from an organization of the same name that pre-dates the show, and that NBC brought the concept to Lopez, who “didn’t come up with the idea herself.”
Neither NBC nor Lopez’s rep responded to Page Six’s request for comment.
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