LOS ANGELES, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. author Deborah Gregory says she hasn't been compensated for the many products inspired by her wildly popular "Cheetah Girls" books.
Gregory says she was promised 4 percent of the net profits from new "Cheetah Girls" incarnations and merchandising when she sold the dramatic rights to her novels to the Disney Channel, but she told the Los Angeles Times she hasn't made any money from the CDs, DVDs, shows, T-shirts and other items based on her books.
The writer admitted she has been paid about $125,000 during the last nine years for option fees and compensation for her title as co-producer of the movies, but she insisted she is owed more, the Times said.
"People think I must be living in a palace, when they think of the success of the 'Cheetah Girls,'" Gregory said.
Gesturing to the studio apartment she rents in Manhattan, she added: "But look at this place. It's a... dump."
"Disney Channel doesn't comment on the terms of its contracts," spokeswoman Patti McTeague told the Times in an e-mail.
