Acclaimed director Lee Daniels took Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Damon Dash’s cash to help fund many of his projects, including “The Butler” — then cut him out of profits and producer credits, according to the hip-hop mogul’s new lawsuit.
“It’s very upsetting because there was a certain point where Lee was up-and-coming and Damon, as a music mogul and producer, really saw potential,” Dash’s attorney Natraj Bhushan told The Post.
“Lee went on to a very successful career and all Damon wants is what he’s rightfully entitled to,” Bhushan said.
Dash is suing Daniels for a return on his investment in six films including “The Woodsman” starring Kevin Bacon and “Precious.”
In 2004, Dash put $2 million into “The Woodsman,” but saw zero returns.
He had similar interests in Daniels’ other flicks, Dash says in the Manhattan Supreme Court filing.
The cash-strapped Dash, who was recently evicted from an upstate New York vacation home because he was $162,000 behind on rent, wants at least $25 million in unpaid principal, interest and royalties.
He is also suing Los Angeles talent manager Simone Sheffield for defamation, saying the Canyon Entertainment owner badmouthed him to contacts in the film and television industry.
The suit says Sheffield claimed Dash was “the subject of a looming incarceration when no such incarceration ever took place.”
Bhushan described Sheffield, who was working closely with Daniels, as an “obstacle” in Dash’s longstanding business partnership and friendship with the director.
Dash, who lives on the Lower East Side, wants another $1 million from Sheffield.
Neither Sheffield nor Daniels immediately returned requests for comment.