Image via Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com
The real-life ex-stripper who inspired the
Hustlers film starring Jennifer Lopez is suing film studio STX for defamation and failure to uphold her civil rights.
Samantha Barbash was featured in the infamous 2015
New York Magazine story,
The Hustlers at Scores, which later became the muse for Lopez’s character in the 2019 movie.
The film follows the lives of former strippers in New York City who drug clients to steal their credit cards.
Back in September 2019, Barbash had lawyers send a letter to the studio stating that she would sue the company if the producers did not offer her monetary compensation in exchange for using her life story.
She is now following through with the claims by suing the company for US$40 million.
The ex-stripper previously faced five years of probation after she pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy, assault, and grand larceny.
[via
The Wrap, images via
Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com]