“Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris was served with court documents at the premiere of his Netflix film “You People” at the Regency Village Theatre in Westwood, California, on Jan. 17.
Barris wrote the film’s screenplay with Jonah Hill. According to Page Six, Barris was served with documents filed by his own sister Colette Barris at 9:54 p.m. Colette Barris reportedly filed the documents in Los Angeles Superior Court following a legal dispute between her and Barris. The court documents accused Barris of breach of contract.
Colette claims that and her brother entered into a legal agreement not to disparage each other on Feb. 22, 2021. The documents claim that Barris referred to her as a “70-year-old no-talent hack.”
“In or around June 2022, Kenya stated to a third party that (1) Plaintiff was a ’70-year-old no talent hack’ and (2) Plaintiff had not earned the ‘right to be a show creator’ but instead ‘ wanted to go to the front of the line,'” read the documents.
The lawsuit also accused Barris of causing his sister harm with his comments.
“The parties in pertinent part agreed ‘not to communicate any disparaging remarks about each other, or about any matters that led to this agreement,” the suit continued. “Kenya’s breach of contract denied Colette the benefit of their bargain and was a substantial factor and causing her harm.”
The outlet reported that Barris was served after the “You People” screening while he was surrounded by photographers taking his picture. One photographer was actually a process server, who handed Barris the documents and said, “You’ve been served.”
As the news spread online, social media users began discussing the family drama between Barris and his sister.
“Money is really the root of all evil.”
“This is weird on the sister part if it’s true.”
“It be your own people.”
“Not at the premier … That’s below the belt! However, you made your bed..”
“Its a shame when siblings aren’t even close. This is part of why the world is just getting worse these days. Family not being family anymore.”
Barris filed a restraining order against his sister back in 2020, claiming that he feared she would harm the six children he shares with his estranged wife, Rainbow Edwards-Barris, but the order was dropped a few months later. The “Girls Trip” screenwriter also claimed that Colette used his name to broker meetings for herself.
