Chris Rock Denied Copycat Accusation

Comedian Chris Rock won’t stay calm about a lawsuit that was filed on Monday against him.

He denied the accusation that was made by Regina Kimbell on her lawsuit, claiming that Rock’s upcoming documentary Good Hair is a copycat of her movie, My Nappy Roots.

In a declaration filed yesterday in U.S. District Court, the funnyman denied swiping the idea for his flick. Rock described his work as a “hybrid documentary and a comedy (a ‘docu-comedy’)” that “does not focus on the history of black hair care,” as opposed to Kimbell’s movie. Rock also pointed out that his film documented a tournament held at the annual Bronner Bros. International Hair Show and Convention in which contestants vie for the title of “best hair stylist in the black world.”

44-year-old Rock said he stumbled on the convention 17 years ago while in Atlanta for a stand-up gig. In the course of conducting research, one of his assistants brought My Nappy Roots to his team’s attention as one of several films on the subject of African-American hair styles. While he acknowledges meeting Kimbell at a private screening of her film at Paramount Studios, he says, “It was one of several documentaries we saw on black hair.”

Rock is disappointed, saying that any injunction delaying Good Hair’s release could do serious harm to his professional and personal reputation. “If the court were to enjoin the movie, it would create a clear perception that there has been a court order that I am somehow a plagiarist,” he stated.

Although both parties had said their own parts, we still have to wait for the progress of the case though. Meanwhile, a judge has denied Kimbell’s petition for a restraining order, clearing the way for the film to open today.

[ via E! Online ]

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