OK folks, this one's a bit convoluted, but stay with me:

There's a movie out called "Barbershop".

The film, at number one in the North American box office chart, stars hip-hop performer Ice Cube as a man who inherits a Chicago barbershop.

It features a cantankerous old barber, played by comedian Cedric The Entertainer, who makes jokes about Martin Luther King's alleged promiscuity.

He also says Parks wasn't the first person to refuse to give up her bus seat but was given credit because she was connected to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Activists Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton publicly asked for an apology and called for scenes deriding Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks to be removed from the film. MGM refused to cut the scenes.

Then, a group of barbers and beauticians sued the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, claiming the activists' remarks about the movie "Barbershop" drove away customers.

The suit was filed Monday by the National Association of Cosmetologists. It accuses Jackson and Sharpton of intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud, and negligence stemming from their demand for apologies from MGM, which produced the comedy.

James Stern, chief executive of the group, said Sharpton's threat to boycott the film and other remarks created a negative public sentiment about the profession, resulting in a loss of business.

Producers Bob Teitel and George Tillman said they had apologised to Mr Jackson on behalf of everyone involved in the film.

It's a great time to be a lawyer, isn't it?

Cheers,
Michael


(Quotes from Yahoo News/AP)