FBOY Island Australia may have only just kicked off, but the franchise — which launched with a US version on HBO Max in 2021 — is now at the centre of a copyright dispute.
As seasoned reality star Abbie Chatfield leads a cast of fierce women and (mostly) unworthy men through a sh*t-ton of drama on-screen, FBOY Island is facing legal action behind-the-scenes.
According to a lawsuit filed in New York on May 2, producer Jack Piuggi of Flipp Productions is suing HBO, Warner Bros. Discovers and several other production companies for copyright infringement.
Jack alleges that they stole his concept for a documentary and turned it into FBOY Island, a dating format in which women try to differentiate the “FBoys” from the “Nice Guys”.
The 27-year-old also claims his ideas were applied to Fake Famous, an influencer doco that debuted on HBO in 2021.
According to legal documentation obtained by The Daily Beast, Jack said he had been working with production companies Grand Street Media and Good For You Productions to develop a show called Instafamous when he clocked his concepts being used in Fake Famous.
The producer later found out that his ideas were allegedly being used on FBOY Island via his friend, Garrett Morosky.
The actor had appeared as a contestant on the reality show after Jack recommended that he be cast in Instafamous. Garrett eventually went on to win Season One of FBOY Island.
Why does Jack Piuggi think his ideas have been used for FBOY Island?
The lawsuit mainly highlights Lowell Freedman and Jesse Guma, co-founders of Grand Street Media, for sharing Jack’s ideas with HBO. The pair allegedly have “indirect but clear relationships” with the network’s parent company, Warner Media.
In a statement, Jack and his lawyers claim that HBO has “developed a clever system that allows them to steal show concepts through the use of independent contractors with 1099 status” so the media giant can be absolved of wrongdoing.
“This is how they get away with stealing people’s concepts,” Jack said in the statement. “It’s genius. 1099s allow the studios to blame the independent contractors for any theft of services or creative work, while remaining legally insulated.
“Then, the production companies spring up under new names. It’s been like this forever, but I have proof the whole system is a sham.”
Jack later told The Guardian that “there will be more information coming out during the [trial] that will support [his] allegations”.
The US iteration of FBOY Island was canned after one season. However, it’s unclear how this lawsuit will affect FBOY Island Australia moving forward.
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