I don’t know what credit repair company Lee Daniels is working with, but they managed to get $300k knocked off a $2 million debt.
Back in 2004 when the Roc-a-fella thing starting to look like it was going sideways, Dame Dash was trying to diversify his investments. Along came Lee Daniels with a ton of film ideas, but he needed money. Dame had money, and needed new ideas. Eureka! Someone had a great thought (probably Lee), why not use some of Dame’s money to bring some of Lee’s ideas to life?
So Dame ponied up $2 million to “fund ideas for people who look like we“. Lee took the money and in the years that followed release a series of successful films and television shows, Precious, The Butler, Empire, Star. All the while not sliding even a dime to Dame. coldblooded.
According to Dame, Lee ignored a number of requests from him asking for repayment of the $2 million loan. So fast forward to June 2018, Dame did what anyone would do, he ran up on Lee at a Diana Ross concert, high definition video camera rolling, and told him to run his pockets. Lee pleaded and promised he would pay the money owed at a later date, just not there in from of all the respectable folk.
Dame backed off and waited, but the money never came. So Dame sued Lee for $5 million for breach of contract involving a 2015 agreement where Dame would get co-executive producing credit and 5% of the profits on the back end for a Richard Pryor biopic.
The two men came to a amicable agreement where Lee will make payment installments to Dame starting November 2018 through January 2021 for a total of $1,782,500.
Dame also gives up his co-executive producer credit or royalties in the event the Pryor film ever gets made.
Lee came off good in the deal.