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Stripper Who Inspired J.Lo’s ‘Hustlers’ Character Threatens to Sue

She says she wasn’t paid for her story. The studio says it didn’t need her permission to tell it.

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Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

Jennifer Lopez’s character in the movie Hustlers was inspired by a real-life stripper—who is unhappy that she isn’t getting a piece of the action. Samantha Barbash is threatening to sue STX Entertainment for using her story without paying her, Variety reported. The movie was adapted from a New York magazine story about a ring of strippers who drugged and fleeced their clients; Barbash got five years’ probation for the scheme. In response to her legal threat, STX said it didn’t need Barbash’s permission to tell a story based on “the public record.”

Read it at Variety

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