Gabrielle Union Sues BET

Gabrielle Union latest drama is happening off-camera.

The actress is suing BET and Breakdown Productions for breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. In court documents obtained by E! News, Union’s attorney, Marty Singer, alleges BET is trying to film two 10-episode seasons of Being Mary Jane back-to-back in an effort to “cram all of the episodes into a single season in order to fraudulently extend the term of Ms. Union’s contract.”

In a statement to E! News on Union’s behalf, Singer says, “We filed this lawsuit because of BET’s outrageous conduct toward its No. 1 star on its highest rated show.” The network also issued a statement, telling E! News, “While we hold Gabrielle Union in the highest esteem, we feel strongly that we are contractually well within our rights and are committed to reaching a swift and positive resolution in this matter.”

The filing claims BET agreed it would never produce more than 13 episodes per season. In the complaint, her attorney states, “In 2012, Union was approached by the creators of a new television series entitled Being Mary Jane and asked to star in the series. At that time, 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.” BET’s then-general counsel, Darrell Walker, assured Union’s team that she would not be required to appear in more than 13 episodes per season. However, a corporate policy required Union’s performer agreement to include a provision allowing for a minimum of 10 episodes and a maximum of 26.