Andrew Benge/RedfernsGladys Knight has filed a lawsuit against her son, demanding that he remove her name and likeness from his Gladys Knight Chicken & Waffles chain because, she claims, the restaurants are damaging her reputation.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Knight filed the lawsuit in Atlanta federal court, asking the judge to stop the chain’s use of her recipes and memorabilia.
“The Restaurants are in free fall and their decline necessarily has the collateral effect of damaging Knight’s Intellectual Property and Knight’s reputation,” the suit states.
In June, Knight’s son, Shanga Hankerson, was arrested after allegedly stealing more than $650,000 in sales and withholding taxes. Earlier this month, one of the three restaurant locations closed, with the downtown Atlanta spot currently under new management.
According to the report, Knight had planned to end the agreement with her son to use her name in 2009 for “what she perceived as mismanagement of the Restaurants,” but has now decided to move forward with the suit to officially end any further damaging of her brand.
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