‘Empire’ Lawsuit: Child Detainees Claim Filming Kept Them From Getting Schooled
In what might be the first documented instance of children complaining that they weren’t allowed to go to school, the people behind the series “Empire” have been hit with a class-action lawsuit by a pair of young detainees who claim that the shooting of the series kept them from receiving their education.
In the suit, filed in federal court in Illinois on Wednesday, two minors claim that an “Empire” shoot at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center made them feel like bigger prisoners than they already were.
The suit, which names 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Broadcasting Company, among others, claims that, on three occasions last year, the facility was placed on lockdown so that “Empire” could film there.
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“The children for whom these facilities were intended, meanwhile, were ordered to remain in their cells, or were confined to the jail-style ‘pod’ areas just outside their cell doors. There they were told to sit, for days on end,” the lawsuit reads.
“Their schooling continued in name only, visits from their families were interrupted, cut back or effectively eliminated, sick-call requests were ignored, and programs that were intended to help them overcome the problems that landed them at [the center] in the first place were canceled or interrupted,” the suit continues.
The suit goes on to claim that, because of the “Empire” shoots, the child detainees “were placed under restrictions more severe than those governing many adult jails.”
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A spokesperson for “Empire” producer 20th Century Fox Television had no comment on the lawsuit.
Alleging unlawful seizure, conspiracy and other counts, the suit seeks unspecified damages.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
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