Nellie Andreeva

George Rush and Joanna Molloy, who wrote their eponymous gossip column for the New York Daily News for 15 years, have filed a $30,000+ breach-of-contract lawsuit against MTV, VH1, their parent Viacom as well as two production companies associated with the reality series Downtown Girls, which had a six-episode run on MTV this past summer. According to the complaint filed this morning in New York, in 2008 married duo Rush and Molloy pitched 2 production companies, Crossroad Films and The Deciders, a reality show revolving around their assistants Sean Evans and Shallon Lester as they run errands related to Rush and Molloy’s column. After a round of pitching, the production companies modified the proposal to focus the show squarely on Lester and named it Downtown Girl. Rush and Molloy claim they were promised a $5,000 per-episode fee and a producer credit on the potential show. Crossroad and Deciders made a sale at MTV and went on to produce a six-episode series for the channel called Downtown Girls. It starred Lester, who was joined by 4 other aspiring New York career girls. Rush and Molloy did not receive producer credit or fees, and now are pursuing them as well as other damages, a total in excess of $30,000, through the legal system. “We have not been served or had an opportunity to review the claim, so have no comment at this time,” an MTV spokesperson said.

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