Real Housewives of Atlanta star Shereé Whitfield’s boyfriend Tyrone Gilliams’ lawyer sent a cease and desist letter to Bravo on November 22 asking that they stop using his name and likeness without his permission on the show.
Jason C. Berger sent the letter which read, “Please be aware that at no time has Mr. Gilliams or his agents entered into an agreement with Productions or the Network, or otherwise granted permission to Productions, the Network, or any third party entity to use his name or likeness in connection with the Program.”
“Furthermore, we are not aware that Productions or the Network made any inquiry or gesture to contact Mr. Gilliams’ representatives to obtain such authorization.”
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“Accordingly, Productions and the Network have no right to utilize Mr. Gilliams’ name, image, likeness, or identity in connection with Program or any so-called “spin-off” program that we understand may be contemplated. Absent the express written consent of Mr. Gilliams, the commercial exploitation of the Program (and sale of related products or services) is a blatant and intentional infringement of Mr. Gilliams’ right of publicity,” it continued.
Gilliams claims that the network used his name for money and included him as part of a recurring storyline without approval.
If the network doesn’t choose to cease, Gilliams and his legal team threaten to move forward with more legal action.
Gilliams also asked the network to remove him from any social media posts, erase any footage of him, and take him out of any advertising and marketing for the show.
As previously reported, last week, Whitefield asked Gilliams to film for the show while she was in Philly. But the filming would’ve violated the terms and conditions of his release and could’ve gotten him sent him back to prison.
