Former The Voice contestant and 20 Feet From Stardom star Judith Glory Hill is the subject of two lawsuits filed this week, and the names listed in the filings range from James Franco to Prince to Kim Jung Un. In other words, they're a couple of good ones (from Billboard).
The first is against Hill (and Prince): Jolene Cherry, the talent scout who claims Lady Gaga among her finds, had signed the vocalist to a deal with her label, The Cherry Party, to record four albums (following a restructuring at Sony). She alleges that Hill and Prince wrecked that deal however. Apparently the Purple Rain icon had taken a liking to the vocalist. Cherry denied Hill the right to record with the star, however the latter pair went about producing an album anyway.
"The Cherry Party is informed and believes, and on that basis alleges, that Hill and Prince boldly and inexplicably ignored these warnings (and the law) and continued to proceed," reads the lawsuit. "Indeed, not only did Hill and Prince finish an album of 11 songs, but they also played that music for a group of reporters and then proceeded to release it on the Internet as a free digital download."
Cherry claims that the release removes the possibility of Cherry Party releasing a "debut" album for the performer, and is suing for compensation and punitive damages accordingly.
This is one of those instances where allegations are flying both ways: Hill is filing her own lawsuit against Cherry, alleging that Sony had stopped working weigh Cherry under suggestions of incompetence. The vocalist said that the talent scout had "disappeared," reportedly claiming to be sick of the music business.
Where does Kim Jung Un come in? Hill had recorded a parody track for use in the film The Interview (starring Franco), and Cherry used an "impostor publicist" to run a story in the New York Post titled "Song singer writes 'love letter' to Kim Jong Un." Hill suggests the presentation damaged her credibility as a performer.
