Philly man claims 'Empire' concept stolen from him

A Philadelphia man has filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that Lee Daniels stole the concept for his hit show "Empire" from him during a "Philly Pitch" event organized by the Greater Philadelphia Film Office in 2008.

In his suit, which was filed on Friday, Clayton Prince Tanksley - an actor who once played Denise Huxtable's boyfriend on "The Cosby Show" - said "Empire" infringes on the show he created, called "Cream," which he had copyrighted in 2005.

Named as defendants in the suit are Daniels, co-creator Danny Strong, Twenty-First Century Fox, the Greater Philadelphia Film Office and the film office's director, Sharon Pinkenson. Tanksley, 50, claims that Pinkenson and the film office were negligent in protecting the original work that he presented at "Philly Pitch."

Tanksley, 50, said he participated in a "Philly Pitch" event in April 2008 where he pitched his movie "Kung Fu Sissy" to Daniels and a panel of judges. After the event, Tanksley said he privately pitched his idea for "Cream" to Daniels and gave him "Cream Materials," including scripts of the show and several DVDs with three 30-minute episodes of the show on them, according to the suit.

When "Empire" debuted seven years later in January 2015, Tanksley said it was "so substantially similar to 'Cream,'" that he could no longer interest television networks in his show.

Among the similarities between his show and "Empire," are that they both "focus on an African-American male who has overcome a disadvantaged/criminal past to achieve financial success in (sic) music industry only to be exploited by those closest to him," the suit said.

Tanksley also claims that both shows have characters with sons who are suffering from mental disorders, that both shows present "regular musical interludes" and that both shows have "evocative, one-word titles."

In his suit, Tanksley, who set his show in Philly, called into question the fact that Daniels, who is also a native Philadelphian, set his show in Philly as well.

"It is particularly significant that both 'Cream' and 'Empire' are set, counterintuitively, in Philadelphia, which is certainly not known as a hot spot in the recording industry," the suit reads. "Each of the male protagonists are from Philadelphia and have risen beyond their criminal pasts to establish record label businesses in that city."

Efforts are being made to contact those named in the lawsuit for comment.

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