Sofia Vergara Sued by Griselda Blanco’s Family Ahead of Netflix Series Premiere
The Colombian drug lord’s family is trying to block the release of the new miniseries based on her life, saying that her name and likeness were not authorized.
Sofia Vergara was named as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by Griselda Blanco’s family, as they attempt to block the release of Griselda on Netflix. The late drug lord’s family has also sued the streamer, according to documents viewed by TMZ. Griselda’s son Michael also claimed that the upcoming series takes elements from interviews that he’d given as part of a different film project in the new show.
Griselda’s family is seeking an injunction to stop the show from being released on the streamer on January 25, according to the outlet. Michael alleged that he’d been interviewing with producers from 2009 until as late as 2022. The interviews were supposedly part of a project that was going to be developed into a film or TV show or possibly a book. He claimed that the consultants he was working with had begun shopping the project around, including with a producer, and he was was told that someone had told him that Netflix was interested without using his interview materials. He says that the upcoming series does take from his interviews and life experiences. The lawsuit says that Michael and his siblings believe that their names and likenesses should not be used in the show.
The series features Sofia playing the titular drug lord. She is also an executive producer for the series, which may be why she was named in the lawsuit. If the series does not get blocked, it will be available to stream on Netflix, beginning on January 25.
The real-life Griselda had earned the nicknames the “Black Widow” and “Cocaine Godmother” during her time as a drug dealer. She was arrested in 1985 and charged with both drug and murder charges. She was sentenced to 15 years for the drug charges and 20 years for murder to serve concurrently. She was released from prison in 2004 as she was dealing with health issues. In 2012, she was murdered while leaving a butcher shop in Colombia. She was 69.
Sofia opened up about exploring the many different aspects of the real-life Griselda in an interview with Entertainment Tonight earlier in January. “There are so many nuances to explore in terms of who she was as a drug lord and, of course, as a woman, as a mother,” she told the outlet. “She was someone who did whatever it took to protect her family.”