Source: Dan MacMedan / Getty
Greenleaf’ has been a popular television show on OWN Network every season its been on however, a screenwriter and pastor believe Oprah stole the idea from them.
On April 19, Pastor Lester Eugene Barrie and writer Shannan Lynette Wynn filed a lawsuit in a California federal court against Oprah claiming Greenleaf is a knock-off version of their show Justice & Glory which they pitched to the network in 2014, according to Vulture.
Both shows featured the same concepts of focusing on a mega church owned by a well-known African-American family. After receiving feedback from a meeting they had with the network to pitch their show, Barrie and Wynn were told the show wouldn’t happen.
The lawsuit also states that Barrie and Wynn were surprised when they saw their show idea on television and that the show even, “used the same character names, and copied verbatim unique and novel storylines, themes, subplots and the overall tone of the show.”
Credit for Greenleaf goes to writer Craig Wright who worked on shows Lost and Six Feet Under and Oprah as the executive producer. Oprah has not commented on the matter.
