Dame Dash has a bone to pick with Empire director Lee Daniels.
According to TMZ, Dash claims he was promised an executive producer credit on a Richard Pryor biopic, as well as five percent on backend profits. Daniels reportedly abandoned the project, so Dash is suing Daniels for $5 million.
This lawsuit continues a years-long dispute between the two. Dash has repeatedly said that the Philly-bred filmmaker never paid back a $2 million loan that Dash gave him to fund The Woodsman, Daniels’ 2004 film that starred Kevin Bacon, Eve and Yasiin Bey (known as Mos Def at the time). A lawsuit between the two regarding the loan was resolved in 2015, according to The Hollywood Reporter. TMZ reports that this new lawsuit stems from that settlement.
In a new video on his Instagram page, Dash pulled up on Daniels at a Diana Ross concert last week at the Hollywood Bowl to confront him about the payment and inform him of the new lawsuit. Daniels looks at Dash with a disappointed look, and in subtitles provided, he appears to acknowledge that he’s done wrong.
“I straight up loaned this dude Lee Daniels @theoriginalbigdaddy 2 million to pay for his dream of being a director,” Dash wrote. “It was the money I was using to fund my movies and stay Indy…he promised I get my money back in months…then he makes precious and goes missing so he doesn’t have to pay me…then then Butler…empire…same sh*t.”
“Why does this dude feel like he doesn’t have to pay me?” Dash continued in his caption. “Why do I have to look crazy to get my money back…or go to court…ask @theoriginalbigdaddy why he doesn’t feel like he has to pay me even though he has it…what type of sh*t is this.. #paywhatyouowe.”
To end his post, Dash calls Daniels a “culture vulture” who “eats off the culture but robs the culture at the same time.”
“See you back in court Lee your gonna pay me what you owe…”