'Aunt Jemima' relatives sue for $2B citing century-old agreement

Relatives of the real life 'Aunt Jemima' are suing Quaker Oats for $2 billion on the grounds that they've been shorted revenue guaranteed in a forgotten agreement from the late 1800s.

The company began using the likeness of Anna Short Harrington on products in 1933. Now her great grandsons D. W. Hunter and Larnell Evans claim that she and the original spokeswoman Nancy Green should have received a percentage of the revenue every time their images were used.

"Aunt Jemima has become known as one of the most exploited and abused women in American history," Hunter said in The Courier-Journal.

Quaker Oats said that the contract never existed and the 'Aunt Jemima' character was a work of fiction. "The image symbolizes a sense of caring, warmth, hospitality and comfort, and is neither based on, nor meant to depict any one person," subsidiary PepsiCo said in a statement.

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