Gabrielle Union and BET Settle “Being Mary Jane” Lawsuit

Gabrielle Union. Photo courtesy of ABC News.

Summary: Gabrielle Union and BET have settled their Being Mary Jane lawsuit.

Don’t try to pull a fast one over Gabrielle Union. The Being Mary Jane star sued the show’s network BET in October for breach of contract, and this week, the network announced that they had reached an amicable agreement.

Union was best known for her roles in teen films such as Bring It On or hits like Bad Boys II before she took on the lead in the television show Being Mary Jane. According to Celebrity Net Worth, she had negotiated with BET in 2012 before taking on the job to not film more than 13 episodes a season so that she would still have time to act in motion pictures.

“Union was a motion picture star and did not want to commit to a typical network television series schedule with 20 or more episodes per season, because doing so would make it difficult for her to continue to work in motion pictures,” Union’s lawyer Marty Singer told Celebrity Net Worth.

Being Mary Jane was critically acclaimed and a hit for BET. The show was on for four seasons, starting in 2014, but Union sued because she said the network tried to shoot season four and five together in order to avoid her raise, which was due when the fifth season started. She is currently paid $150,000 an episode, but that number would have jumped to $165,000 per episode.

Union sued for $3 million in damages and a guarantee that future seasonal episode counts would be no more than 13. Earlier this week, BET stated, “BET Networks is pleased to announce that they have reached an amicable agreement with Gabrielle Union and look forward to sharing the new season of Being Mary Jane with its loyal fans beginning January 10, 2017.”

The actors’ union SAG-AFTRA also filed a complaint against BET on behalf of Union, and it is unclear what settlement has come out of that.

Source: Celebrity Net Worth