Tyler Perry, who has made quite a career out of dressing as a feisty older woman named Madea, occasionally makes other movies, and his film “Good Deeds”–which came out earlier this year–is now the subject of a lawsuit.
Author Terri Donald, who also writes under the name TLO Red’ness, has filed a lawsuit against Perry claiming that he took the plot of his film from her book “Bad Apples Can Be Good Fruit”, which was published in 2007. The story focuses on a single mother who has fallen on hard times and stars Perry and Thandie Newton and brought in $35 million at the box office. Donald is asking for $225,000 in damages and is also requesting that Perry’s production company give a full account of the film’s revenues.
Donald says she sent the production company a copy of the book well before the movie was made, and wants her name–as well as the title of her book–added to the credits.
At least one entertainment site has acknowledged the similarities between Perry’s movie and the book, but says that while the book focuses on the female character’s point of view, the film takes a look at her love interest’s side of things. Still, that may not be enough to help Perry in court.
Neither party has commented on the lawsuit as yet.