>>86190467Andre "3000" Benjamin is the subject of a lawsuit claiming that the Outkast MC stole ideas for his now-canceled Cartoon Network series "Class of 3000" from a Boston postal worker/former art student named Timothy McGee, according to
BostonHerald.com blog Inside Track [via Rolling Stone's Rock and Roll Daily].
The suit claims that in 1997, McGee proposed an animated show called "The Music Factory of the '90s" to Cartoon Network's then-vice president of programming Michael Lazzo. The show was rejected. Inside Track reports that the suit states, "the similarities between the expression of Mr. McGee's work in 'The Music Factory' and that of 'Class of 3000' are sufficiently detailed and pervasive."
For instance, "The Music Factory" featured "a young corporate type" with music production aspirations as well as a "tough full-of-attitude female executive, a young techno-whiz sound engineer, a talented young Asian singer, and a central energetic young singer/rapper."
"Class of 3000", on the other hand, had "an energetic, aspiring music producer, a 'tough, brash full-of-attitude' female string player, a 'technological genius bass player, and talented twins of Asian ethnicity,' the suit says," per Inside Track. According to the suit, McGee wanted Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds to host "The Music Factory"; Andre 3000 hosted "Class of 3000".
McGee's suit accuses Benjamin, the Cartoon Network, and Turner Broadcasting of "copyright infringement, breach of contract, and misappropriation of trade secrets." As payment, it requests all profits from the show, legal fees, and "whatever this court may deem additionally just and proper."
Jerrold Neeff, McGee's attorney and a Boston University law professor, told Inside Track, "We've requested $2 million in damages thus far, and the rest remains to be seen."
