Spike Lee hasn’t been providing workers their full 40 acres and a mule. At least, that’s the claim of a new lawsuit filed against the filmmaker by the directors of health and pension plans.
The lawsuit, filed in a New York federal court on Wednesday, alleges that Lee’s Black Butterfly owes nearly $45,000 in contributions to health and pension plans.
The directors of the Motion Picture Industry Pension Plan and the Motion Picture Industry Health Plan claim that a payroll audit was conducted on Black Butterfly for the period of Sept. 23, 2007 to March 6, 2010, and found that the company came up lacking in plan contributions.
“The Report found that $44,987.87 in unpaid contributions was due for work performed,” the suit contends. “Despite multiple demands, Black Butterfly has failed to pay the claims asserted by the Plans. Black Butterfly refuses, and continues to refuse, to pay the amounts due for unpaid contributions disclosed by the audit.”
TheWrap has reached out for comment from Lee.
According to the suit, Black Butterfly’s sole asset, Lee’s 2008 film “Miracle at St. Anna,” was transferred to Lee’s 40 Acres and a Mule, also named as a defendant, “without adequate credit.”
“Forty Acres was represented to the public as the producer of the Film and was credited with the Film’s production,” the suit reads.
Alleging breach of collective bargaining agreement and trust agreements, the suit is seeking the $45,000, plus other damages — so, basically, they want him to do the right thing.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
Colin Kaepernick Controversy: 8 Stars Weigh In, From Donald Trump to Spike Lee
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has refused to stand for the national anthem because he won't "show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people," and just about everyone has an opinion.
Click on for the highest-profile hot takes on both sides of the issue...
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Colin Kaepernick
"To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way," the quarterback told NFL Media. "There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."
"He's within his rights and he's telling the truth as he sees it," Brown said. "The young men of today are stepping up. For so many years they did not step up."
The polarizing "First Take" host said Kaepernick "personified what a protest is supposed to be.”
He continued: “There’s a difference between bringing attention to something, and sacrificing. And I’m telling you right now, when you look at what Colin Kaepernick did, this was a sacrifice.”
"All lives matter. So much going on in this world today. Can we all just get along! Colin, I respect your stance but don't disrespect the Flag," the 49ers legend tweeted.
Rice played most of his pro football career in San Francisco and is widely considered to be the best wide receiver of all time. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
The NBA legend wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post ripping critics of the protest.
Abdul-Jabbar is a former cultural ambassador for the United States and recently authored a book called “Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Charlie Sheen and Jim Brown also take sides in QB’s refusal to stand for the national anthem
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has refused to stand for the national anthem because he won't "show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people," and just about everyone has an opinion.
Click on for the highest-profile hot takes on both sides of the issue...