Tyler Perry faced his day in court against author Terri Strickland.  She claimed Perry stole the Good Deeds storyline from her book that she submitted to Perry's office in 2008. After failing to convince the judge of her claims the lawsuit was dismissed in 2013, but Strickland still continues to tweet about the story; her loss, and what she believes are photos that bare a striking resemblance between she and actress Thandie Newton who starred in the film.

Strickland, who is a published author and writes under the aliases Terri Donald and TLO Redness, seems to be having a difficult time letting go of her 2013 loss against Perry in a claim where she says the mogul stole her idea for Good Deeds. In September, Strickland used her Twitter account to repost several articles about the case and photos comparing herself to actress Thandie Newton.

There was even a post which could be indirectly geared toward Perry.

The 2012 film starring Perry, Thandie Newton and Gabrielle Union is said to be written and co-produced by Perry himself but, as reported by Bossip, Strickland claims that is not the case. According to the site, published author Terri Strickland wrote a book titled, Bad Apples Can Be Good Fruit and submitted a copy by mail to Perry's office in Atlanta back in 2008; with the hopes of having Perry's production company assist her in turning the book into a film.

Strickland claimed to have had the book copyrighted (as all books are from the moment of their completion) and filed a lawsuit against Perry for $70 million, claiming that he used the same storyline with her same "unique characters and overall theme" for the film. The author cited that Perry never received her permission nor did she profit in anyway from his rip-off of her original work.

The Hollywood Reporter wrote that it was US District Court Judge William Pauley III who believed the only similarities found in both stories was the romantic love interest between "a wealthy black man and a woman experiencing hardship." The ruling cited copyright law which protects "expression" but not ideas.

In a 2012 interview with Black Tree TV's Shawn Edwards, Perry explained how the story's main character in the film, played by Newton is reminiscent of what he experienced in his own life and own personal struggles. He says ultimately what he wanted people to take from this film, allegedly written by him, was the idea of living your own life and doing what makes you happy as an individual, not living a life to satisfy others.

"What the movie is about more than anything is live your own life, run your own race," Perry explained. "Don't worry about what momma said or daddy said, we all have our own journey and our own path on this planet. If you follow it you'll be happy."

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