The battle for barber shop themed roundtable shows took another twist today as LeBron James' multimedia platform Uninterrupted has been hit with a lawsuit for allegedly stealing the idea.
According to reports, Adventure Enterprises claims they pitched LeBron James on the idea and had several discussions with Uninterrupted over a two year period before LeBron's company went and created their own show called "The Shop" based on that idea. Adventure Enterprises is now seeking cash, as well as an injunction preventing any more episodes, according to TMZ Sports.
"The company sought a payment eight months ago and were told their claim was ridiculous, and they disappeared," a source close to James and Carter told ESPN. "They clearly saw the media around the University of Alabama story and saw an opportunity for a publicity stunt."
As mentioned, this lawsuit comes in the wake of a battle between Uninterrupted and the Alabama Crimson Tide over the rights to another barber shop video. The trailer for "Shop Talk," which was posted by the Crimson Tide's twitter account earlier this month, features former Alabama football star Julio Jones and head coach Nick Saban chopping it up in a barbershop setting. According to the letter sent by Uninterrupted, "Shop Talk" infringes upon Uninterrupted's copyright for "The Shop."
Saban has already addressed the situation and said, per ESPN, "There's been at least 20 barbershop-type things I've seen. I didn't even know he had one. I'm sorry anybody could be offended by something we were just trying to have fun with. I enjoyed it and we're going to continue to do it."
