Jerry Heller’s Attorney Says ‘Straight Outta Compton’ Movie Contributed to Heller’s Death

Former N.W.A. manager Jerry Heller died in a car crash after suffering a heart attack yesterday (Sept. 2), but his attorney Mickey Shapiro says that it was actually a movie that led to Heller's death. TMZ is reporting that Shapiro believes it was Straight Outta Compton's unflattering depiction of Heller that led to his demise.

Straight Outta Compton follows Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella as they rise to global stardom with their group N.W.A. Heller was the group's manager in the film and in real life, but he was very upset with the way he was portrayed. Shapiro says that Heller was experiencing a "tremendous amount of stress" and was left "heart broken" by the film. The lawyer's former client even had problems sleeping. Summing up his statements, Shapiro told TMZ, "Jerry Heller would be alive today if not for that movie."

Last year, TMZ reported that Heller was suing Dre, Cube and other Straight Outta Compton producers for $75 million for defamation. In his claims, Heller pointed out that the scenes depicting him withholding a $75,000 check from Cube, eating lobster dinners and tricking Dre and Cube into signing bad contracts weren't true. It's unknown what will become of the lawsuit now.

In his career, Heller managed popular acts like Otis Redding, The Who, Ike & Tina Turner and Black Sabbath along with N.W.A. History will ultimately remember him for being the rap group's first manager, and unfortunately for Heller, it will also remember the way he was depicted in Straight Outta Compton. 

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