Channing Tatum is claiming that two of his former fellow strippers are trying to make money off of his career and his new movie, ‘Magic Mike,’ Celebuzz is reporting. The two strippers, Thomas “Awesome” Austin and London Steele, are saying ‘Magic Mike’ is based on, and ripped off, their lives.
While promoting the comedy-drama, which hits theaters on Friday, Tatum said “Those guys have been trying to make money off of me since I got into this business. Literally, (London) was one of the guys that sold the video.”
Tatum added “Thank God that my friend here saw and we made a movie from it,” referring to his ‘Magic Mike’ director and frequent collaborator, Steven Soderbergh. The movie is said to have been created after the Academy Award-winning helmer learned of the actor’s real-life experiences as a former male stripper. Austin and Steel are saying that Tatum not only stole their signature moves, but also took the name Magic Mike.
Attorney Anthony Friend of the Los Angeles firm Levene, Neal, Bender, Yoo & Brill L.L.P. told Celebuzz that there’s only a slim chance that Austin and Steel would succeed in their legal actions. If “these guys had specific copyright on names that they were call themselves, or specific moves that they were doing, and they had an application filed with the US Patent Office, and Trademark Office, then yes, they could potentially (take action),” Friend said.
Written by: Karen Benardello
