Sofia Vergara, who plays famed Colombian drug kingpin Griselda Blanco in the new hit Netflix series Griselda, is facing a lawsuit from the Blanco family for using her likeness without consent. The show, which premiered on January 25, documents the rise of the infamous Medellin drug mogul, with Vergara playing the title role. 

The lawsuit was filed just six days before the show premiered.

Griselda Blanco’s only living son, Michael Corleone Blanco, claimed that Netflix was not authorized to use his mother’s image and that they were not compensated for the images used in the show.

In an interview with Fox News, Blanco stated, “Sofía Vergara did not consult with any members of the Blanco family as a sign of respect or elicit family details in portraying my mother.”

Michael also claimed that he has been working on a series of projects that included interviews and stories since 2009, with the intention that it would be scooped up by Hollywood and turned into a book and a documentary. 

“Sofia’s camp and the Netflix creators were disrespectful and ultimately produced the Griselda project on their own for commercial gain, without key details from the Blanco family,” Michael continued.

Michael sent a cease-and-desist to the attorneys of Vergara and Netflix, but their attorneys made “no attempt to reconcile.”

“I am Griselda’s only living son that has life rights agreements signed by Griselda herself in which she intended I carry out her life story,” he added.

Vergara has not released any public statements about the lawsuits.

However, in an interview with ET regarding the process of getting into character, the actress stated: “I really wanted to explore that from the point of view of, you know, of her being one of the only women in history to have gone as far as she did.”

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