Samantha Barbash, the real-life stripper whose story inspired Jennifer Lopez’s character in the movie “Hustlers,” is threatening legal action against the film.
Samantha was the alleged mastermind behind a ring of strippers who drugged their clients and took their credit cards. She pleaded guilty in 2017 and was sentenced to five years of probation. The story of the fraud ring, as told to New York Magazine in 2015, was adapted into “Hustlers,” which scored the biggest opening weekend in STX’s history.
Her legal team just fired off a letter to STX Entertainment—the studio behind the hit film—demanding that it pays for its use of Barbash’s likeness, personality, biography, and identity in connection with the promotion of the film.
Last week, Barbash said that she was approached by the film’s producer to work with STX on the film, but she declined what she considered to be a low-ball offer. She told TMZ then, “I have Hermes bags that cost more than what they wanted to give me.” Barbash also said that she was “disgusted” by the way she was portrayed in the film.
[Nylon]
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Lopez’s Instagram account
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