Black CNN Anchor Laura Coates Sued For $200,000 After Allegedly Screwing Over Her Former Managers

CNN anchor Laura Coates is being sued by her former managers who 
claim she screwed them out of thousands of dollars.

According to the lawsuit obtained by Radar, LopezTalent is 
accusing The Laura Coates Show star of breaching her contract 
with the management company, claiming Coates "abruptly and 
improperly terminated" their agreement and is refusing to pay 
what is allegedly owed to them.

The owner of LopezTalent -- Josanne Lopez -- is also listed as a 
plaintiff.

The New York-based management company claims, "Just days after 
Defendant secured a $600,000.00 advance on a book publishing 
deal and mere months before she was expected to sign an upgraded 
hosting contract with Sirius XM Radio Inc. (“Sirius XM”), 
Defendant abruptly and improperly terminated the Agreement and 
has refused to pay Ms. Lopez for her services."

"By these actions, Defendant has materially breached the 
Agreement," the documents read.

According to Lopez, she began working with Coates in the fall of 
2015 -- prior to landing her spot on CNN.

Lopez claims it was "especially challenging" to help Coates 
start her hosting career since Laura's experience included radio 
and not television.

"Through her existing relationships, however, Ms. Lopez secured 
appearances for Defendant on several networks and streaming 
platforms, including CNN, MSNBC, Huffington Post Live and TV 
One," the lawsuit states.

Lopez claims she "coached" Coates on various things like "how to 
prepare for these television spots" and "how to formulate 
content and how to succinctly answer questions."

The talent manager also claims that she "negotiated Defendant’s 
first contract with CNN as an on-air legal contributor" in 2016.

In April 2017, Coates and Lopez allegedly entered into a talent 
management agreement, which stated, LopezTalent would be the 
“sole and exclusive personal manager to provide advice, counsel, 
and direction in the development and enhancement of 
[Defendant’s] professional career in the entertainment field.”

According to the lawsuit, their initial term of the agreement 
was allegedly good until April 1, 2020, and "was automatically 
renewed for an additional three-year period to April 1, 2023."

Lopez says Coates is required to give her 10% of “any and all” 
of her gross income earned within the entertainment industry."

The agreement may be terminated during the term by providing 
Lopez "with thirty (30) days prior written notice of such 
termination,” according to the lawsuit.

Lopez claims Coates salary "nearly doubled" when she signed with 
CNN for her role of Senior Legal Analyst in March of 2020.

In August 2020, Laura informed Lopez she had secured a 
$600,000.00 book advance with a major publishing company.

This was allegedly done "without Ms. Lopez’s knowledge and in 
violation of the Agreement."

"Defendant notified Ms. Lopez mere days after securing the book 
deal that she no longer wanted to continue their professional 
relationship and attempted to terminate the Agreement," 
according to the lawsuit.

Lopez says Coates has failed to pay her the 10% of what she's 
earned with the book deal and her agreements with Sirius XM and 
CNN.

Lopez is suing Coates for $200,000, plus interest accrued.

https://radaronline.com/p/cnn-anchor-laura-coates-sued-200k-
scewing-over-managers/