Reverends Criticized 'Barbershop' For Lines About MLK, Parks

POSTED: 10:26 a.m. EST October 29, 2002 UPDATED: 10:29 a.m. EST October 29, 2002

Remarks made by the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton about the movie "Barbershop" have now gotten them sued.

A group claiming to represent over 50,000 barbers and beauticians is suing Jackson and Sharpton for $61 million.

Jackson and Sharpton called on the producers to remove scenes from the movie that deride Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.

The National Association of Cosmetologists alleges Jackson and Sharpton misrepresented themselves as spokesmen for barbers without their consent when they demanded an apology from MGM, which produced the hit comedy.

In the scenes, a barber jokes about King's alleged promiscuity.

He also says Parks wasn't the first to refuse to give up her bus seat, but was given credit because she was connected to the NAACP.

The film's producers have apologized for the "Barbershop" barbs, but MGM says the dialogue will stay put. The movie, starring Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer, has grossed over $70 million in seven weeks of release.

-- Anonymous, October 29, 2002