The Real Cookie Lyon Moves Forward With ‘Empire’ Lawsuit

Michigan U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg has granted Sophia Eggleston legal ammunition in her war against “Empire” creators Lee Daniels and Danny Strong. In her suit, she claims to be the “real Cookie Lyon,” and she wants Lee and Danny to pay up for ripping off her life story.

According to CentricTV, Judge Berg tossed a motion filed by Daniels and Strong that sought to squash Eggleston’s suit, which claims that Taraji P. Henson’s character was stolen from her autobiography, “The Hidden Hand.”

Daniels and Strong, who live in New York and Los Angeles, argued that the lawsuit had no jurisdiction on them, and asked the judge to throw the case out. Unfortunately, Judge Berg didn’t agree, and he’s allowing the lawsuit to move forward on the deposition phase.

Eggleston is seeking “tens of millions of dollars,” after she says a screenwriter she met with about developing a script about her life, took the book and show idea to Daniels.

The 53-year-old said in the suit that she was a “drug kingpin” who did jail time for manslaughter for placing a “hit” on a man and later penned her memoir about her “early drug lifestyle.” She argues that her life story is quite similar to Cookie Lyon’s.

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