Just days before his latest comedy special is set to premiere on Netflix, comedian and actor Chris Tucker is being sued by an associate who says he wasn’t fairly compensated for his work on the show. Comedian Terry Hodges is suing both Tucker and the streaming service, claiming that he was promised a co-producer credit on the upcoming special, as well as citing $66,000 in unpaid work he performed as a writer and editor for Tucker. Obviously, the, apparent dissolution of the working relationship between the two comedians is a nuanced and emotionally fraught situation, and one that deserves more gravity than to serve as a platform for a bunch of jokes predicated on funny things Chris Tucker has yelled at people in the past.
That being said, Tucker’s attorney, Marty Singer, seemed confident that the case would be dismissed, calling it “absurd and completely without merit,” a statement which is a lot funnier if you imagine Chris Tucker leaning into frame and screaming “You got knocked the fugg out!” immediately afterward. It’s also possible that this is all a big misunderstanding, and that the issue will be resolved once Tucker and Hodges find a way to meaningfully communicate their problems to each other, presumably through the gift of shared language and understanding.
Meanwhile, judicial scholars, contract lawyers, and Tuckerologists continue to pore over the intricacies of the case, trying to find a way to also work a Fifth Element reference into the legal drama in a way that remains respectful to all participants involved.