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Taraji P. Henson

Source: FOX / Getty

A woman from Detroit named Sophia Eggleston is claiming that the creators of Empire have jacked her for her life story. The woman says that Empire’s character Cookie Lyons is based on her. She has filed a $300 million lawsuit against Lee Daniels and Fox.

Apparently Eggleston is a former kingpin who was convicted of placing a hit on a man, among other drug crimes. Also, she says that she wrote her life story in a memoir entitled The Hidden Hand that was sent to a screenwriter in Los Angeles back in 2011. Her lawsuit claims that she received a call from the screenwriter saying that they would pitch the story to Daniels.

When the 53-year-old watched Empire, she was in shock at the similarities she noticed between Cookie’s life and her own. Her suit says Cookie’s story was “was similar in behavior, style of dress, and background” to her and that she was “dismayed to see the various similarities of events and characters . . . so numerous and specific, especially . . . Cookie Lyon, that independent creation was obviously impossible.”

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