Selena‘s father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr., is taking the late singer’s widower Chris Perez and production company Endemol Shine Latino to court over the development of a television series based on Perez’s “unauthorized” memoir To Selena With Love.
Quintanilla presented a lawsuit against Perez and Endemol on Friday in a Texas court to halt the production of the forthcoming series. According to court documents, “Defendant Perez expressly agreed that he would not exploit any of the Entertainment Properties in any manner or medium, including, without limitation, by way of a book, television series, movie, or any other motion picture medium.”
Furthermore, with the production of the series, Perez is in violation of the Estate Properties Agreement contract he signed after Selena’s death back in 1995, which states that Selena’s father “owns all proprietary rights in the name, voice, signature, photograph, and likeness of Selena.”
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News of the lawsuit comes just weeks after Endemol Shine Latino and Perez announced the production of the bio-series for both English and Spanish audiences. No major network was attached to the project when the announcement was made.
“I spent several years keeping the memories of my late wife bottled up inside,” Perez, who was married to the “Como la flor” singer from 1992 until her death in ’95, said in a statement following the announcement for the production of the series. “To Selena With Love allowed me to finally embrace my experience and understand the void it could fill in the hearts of so many others. I am now ready to take the important step of being fully transparent and bringing my everlasting relationship to life on the screen.”