Jill Scott Is Facing A Lawsuit Over Her Lyrical Greeting Card Line
The singer-songwriter is being sued by a former friend over her Hallmark collection.
Jill Scott is reportedly being sued over her line of Hallmark cards. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, freelance reporter and Scott’s former friend, Mister Mann Frisby, claims that it was his idea to turn the singer’s lyrics into greeting cards and that she breached an oral agreement to split the gross revenues.
Scott released the 20-card collection with Hallmark Mahogany in January 2017, incorporating messages and visuals that are inspired by lyrics from her songs “Golden” and “Cross My Mind,” among others.
Frisby filed the lawsuit in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court last week, claiming that he pitched the card concept to Scott a decade ago. He says he initially prepared marketing and promotional materials, and selected which lyrics to use. The suit also alleges that Scott put Frisby’s work on hold to pursue her acting career and that she hid her proceeding actions from him.
Frisby says he didn’t discover she had released a Hallmark collection until eight months after the line launched. His lawsuit is demanding 50 percent of Scott’s card profits and over $50,000 in damages. Scott hasn’t responded to the lawsuit at this time.
In an Associated Press article from January 2017, Scott explained that Hallmark approached her five years ago about a partnership but it wasn’t until 2016 that they met and displayed her ideas. Scott also explained that she wanted to follow in the footsteps of the renowned poet Maya Angelou, who has also released Hallmark greeting cards.
The musician and actress is credited as a collaborator on the Hallmark website, and helped with the design and “editorial voice” of the line. In a press statement on the site, Scott also cites her personal highlights of “love, marriage, motherhood” as inspiration behind her greeting card writing.
It’s unclear if any of Scott’s co-songwriters were part of the Hallmark deal, since the cards do not contain verbatim lyrics. Frisby hasn’t been involved in Scott’s songwriting or recording process before, either.
Catch up on all of the lyrics to Jill Scott’s biggest on Genius now.
