Whitney Houston’s ex-husband, Bobby Brown, and her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown’s estate, have filed a lawsuit against BBC and Showtime over the documentary, “Whitney: Can I Be Me.” They allege that the defendants violated their rights by improperly using footage from the production of the 2005 reality series “Being Bobby Brown.”
The lawsuit seeks $2 million from the defendants who include: Passion Pictures, Tracey Baker-Simmons, Wanda Shelley, B2 Entertainment and Simmons Shelley Entertainment, as well as Showtime and the BBC. It claims that Brown and his late daughter are in the documentary for over 30 minutes although they did not sign any releases. They did sign for the footage when it appeared on Bravo’s “Being Bobby Brown” but claim that should not carry over for any other usage.
The lawsuit also suggests that producers attempted to gain positive public opinion of the film by premiering it at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2017 before Brown’s lawyers could object. “Whitney: Can I Be Me” has indeed been given a positive reception with an 86 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
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