LeBron James Sued For Allegedly Stealing Barbershop-Themed Talk Show Idea

A company is reportedly suing Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James and his business partner Maverick Carter for allegedly stealing an idea for a barbershop-themed talk show.

Adventure Enterprises has sued James and his media platform UNINTERRUPTED, claiming that they copied their idea for a talk show centered in a barbershop, according to a lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports on Monday.

The company said that after working with James for two years to refine the idea for a barbershop talk show called "Shop Talk," UNINTERRUPTED scrapped the series and later made a similar show called "The Shop," a talk show where James and his friends have conversations in a barbershop while getting haircuts.

According to the lawsuit, Adventure Enterprises confronted James and his company on the matter and received a promise that it was a one-time occurrence, but it happened again when the show aired a second episode on ESPN.

Adventure Enterprises is seeking an injunction which would prevent any more episodes of "The Shop" from airing, in addition to monetary compensation, according to TMZ Sports.

"The company sought a payment eight months ago and were told their claim was ridiculous, and they disappeared," a source with knowledge of the matter told ESPN. "They clearly saw the media around the University of Alabama story and saw an opportunity for a publicity stunt."

A person close to James told USA Today that the lawsuit is a publicity stunt.

News of the lawsuit comes after representatives for UNINTERRUPTED sent a letter on April 2 to the University of Alabama, alleging that the school's new series "Shop Talk," featuring head coach Nick Saban and Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones in a barbershop had infringed upon copyright for "The Shop."

"Your continued exploitation of 'Shop Talk' infringes 'UNINTERRUPTED's' copyright, trademark rights and other valuable intellectual property rights in 'The Shop' and significantly damages 'UNINTERRUPTED's' commercial prospects for 'The Shop,'" the letter read, according to ESPN.

However, since the notice, the school has released two more episodes of the show under a new name, "Bama Cuts."

"I think LeBron James is a great player," Saban said during a press conference. "There's been at least 20 barbershop-type things I've seen on TV. I didn't know anybody owned that. I didn't even know he had one. I'm sorry that anybody could be offended by something that we were just having fun with. I enjoyed it, and we're going to continue to do it."

The first episode of "The Shop" premiered during the 2017 NBA Finals, which garnered approximately 4 million views across UNINTERRUPTED.com and ESPN's YouTube channel.​