Sofia Vergara stars in the new Netflix TV series as Griselda Blanco, a Colombian drug lord who created one of the most profitable cartels in history. However, the family went to court and sued the actress and Netflix.

The actress plays the infamous Colombian trafficker who created one of the most profitable cartels in history by smuggling cocaine through Miami. But Griselda Blanco’s grown children, who are acting as representatives of her estate, are trying to block the release of the series by filing a lawsuit, claiming that no authorization was given to use their family’s image and appearance in the upcoming series.

Sofia Vergara is named as a defendant in a new lawsuit filed by TMZ, along with Netflix, the show’s streaming platform.

The series features the actress portraying the late Griselda Blanco in her prime as one of the world’s most famous drug lords. But her children are trying to prevent the production from being shown next week (January 25, 2024) as they take to court and ask the judge for an injunction to stop it from being released.

Griselda’s son, Michael Corleone Blanco, known as Michael Sepulvedablanco, claims that for years he has been interviewing people trying to record his and his mother’s life story. He claims that these interviews he did with them date from 2009 until 2022. They told him they were also interested in writing a book.

He himself, he claims, learned that Netflix was interested, but the production would not use any of his details or narration from the interviews he had done. But, according to the lawsuit, that’s not the case, as he learned that the series is based on many of his own stories and material. In fact, he states in the lawsuit that he did not receive any monetary compensation for all of this.

Sofia Vergara

He and his wife, Marie, are seeking damages “in excess of $50,000” as well as an emergency temporary injunction to stop the “Griselda” series from airing on January 25, 2024.