Netflix sues ‘Unofficial Bridgerton Musical’ writers Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (WIFR) - Rockford native Emily Bear and her writing partner Abigail Barlow face a lawsuit from Netflix regarding the Unofficial Bridgerton Musical they released on TikTok.

The musical is based on Netflix’s Bridgerton series and gained more than 36 million likes on the social media platform. It also earned Barlow and Bear a 2022 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album.

According to the lawsuit, Netflix, “Owns the exclusive right to create Bridgerton songs, musicals, or any other derivative works based on Bridgerton.” The streaming service also alleges that Barlow and Bear have, “Taken valuable intellectual property from the Netflix original series Bridgerton to build an international brand for themselves.”

Netflix originally praised the musical that started playing out on TikTok in 2021 but it has since started to change its mind after the musical started turning big profits.

This comes after both Barlow and Bear performed songs from the Bridgerton-inspired album at the Kennedy Center on July 26 to a sold-out crowd. The lawsuit claims that Netflix repeatedly objected to the show.

It further alleges that the pair, “misrepresented to the audience that they were using Netflix’s Bridgerton trademark ‘with Permission.’”

Barlow and Bear have yet to comment on the lawsuit. The streamer is seeking an unspecified amount of damages along with attorneys’ fees.

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