Cavs guard Iman Shumpert is claiming that the TV show Empire has stolen his and his girlfriend, Teyana Taylor’s, likenesses. Shump says he’s never watched the show, but he’s been told that characters, Hakeem and his on-screen girlfriend Tiana, bear a striking resemblance he and Taylor. Per Cleveland.com:
Hakeem has the mannerisms, as well as the look and, strangely, the sound of Shumpert. He’s even rocking Shumpert’s patented high-top fade hairstyle.
“I don’t watch that stuff, man,” Shumpert told Northeast Ohio Media Group, an annoyed expression on his face.
“They’re using my girl’s character, her style, her look and she’s not getting anything for it,” Shumpert said of Teyana Taylor, a real-life R&B singer, dancer and actress who is Shumpert’s girlfriend. “They didn’t even change her name. They could have at least let my girl audition for the part instead of stealing her character completely.
“And come on man, they’re really using a guy with a flat-top like me. Come on. That’s ridiculous. They never called us. We were blindsided. We found out by our family and fans when the show aired.”
Shump, for what it’s worth, took to twitter to clarify his comments:
Lmao y'all gotta chill with the #empire stuff. We were having a convo after the game and he wrote the article. No one is mad…
— Iman Shumpert I (@I_Am_Iman) March 12, 2015
And btw @ChrisBHaynes you were more mad about the character than me. And Shump would never use the word "blindsided" ever in life #Empire
— Iman Shumpert I (@I_Am_Iman) March 12, 2015
