NEW YORK – A controversial Harlem church that ordered action figures in the image of its leader has sued the toy maker. It claims they didn't look like him and the skin color wasn't dark enough.
Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ filed the lawsuit against Vicale Corp. in Manhattan. The Daily News (http://nydn.us/11IqdT1) says it's seeking $120,000 in damages.
The Oxford, Conn.-based company said the design and skin color were approved by a man it identified as Jason Moody. It plans to countersue.
The church says its leader, Jermaine Grant, once prophesied a black Jesus would return to Earth to enslave all white people.
The Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ says the Connecticut toymaker put “pointed noses and faces” on the dolls. And half of them “were light brown” instead of “dark brown,” the court papers state.
The lawsuit says Moody put in an order for some "custom-made speaking dolls'' that the church planned to sell for $120 a piece at a March fund-raiser.
Toymaker Emil Vicale said an “obnoxious” customer named Jason Moody put in the doll order, and approved the design and the skin color. And he intends to countersue.
*Pictured above is Jermaine Grant.
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