Netflix and Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah — the filmmakers behind the Kanye West touting ‘jeen-yuhs’ doc — are defendants in a lawsuit from a Chicago woman who claims they exploited her with its release.
The suit was filed Monday by Cynthia Love, and according to documents obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, she originally made a cameo in Kanye’s 2003 music video “Through the Wire” … which Coodie and Chike directed.
The vid served as Kanye’s breakout hit and opens with Cynthia dancing inside a restaurant … and she says she was paid $20 for that appearance.
Cynthia’s issue is she claims she was in an “altered state and not capable of providing consent” at the time — and she’s upset an extended version of that moment was then shown in the ‘jeen-yuhs’ documentary on Netflix.
In the suit, she says it represents a part of her past she’d like to move past. She claims she’s now been sober for nearly 18 years, has held down long-term jobs and repaired relationships with friends and family.
She says the doc revealed her dark past to many who were unaware of her background, forcing her to rehash bad memories.
Cynthia also claims Coodie told her son, via text message, he assumed she was dead instead of trying to contact her before the film’s debut.
Cynthia alleges the footage has now caused her emotional distress and harmed her reputation.
While it seems legally irrelevant to her case, her suit mentions reports Coodie and Chike got $30 mil for the documentary. She’s suing them, and Netflix, for a minimum of $30K in damages.
TMZ Staff
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