Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan battle over 'Magic Mike' profits
Channing Tatum and his ex Jenna Dewan are expected to testify in court during an April 12 divorce trial that comes six years after their split.
The former spouses are embroiled in a dispute over finances, with Dewan contending that she is entitled to additional profits generated by Tatum’s successful “Magic Mike” film franchise — and Tatum disagreeing — according to court documents obtained by NBC News.
Dewan and Tatum, who announced their split in April 2018, have both called on one another as witnesses in the upcoming trial.
Dewan’s lawyer argues in an April 9 petition filed in California’s Superior Court that the “intellectual property” from “Magic Mike,” which has grown into “a multi-million cultural phenomenon,” was developed during the former couple’s marriage and is therefore “community in character.”
“During the parties’ marriage, Channing, an actor and producer got his big break with the motion picture ‘Magic Mike,’ which along with the underlying intellectual property, was developed and co-financed by Channing during marriage with community effort and marital funds,” the petition states.
A rep for Dewan declined to comment to TODAY.com when asked. TODAY.com also reached out to a rep for Tatum, who did not respond.
“Magic Mike,” which Tatum starred in and produced, was filmed in 2011 and became a hit the following year. The comedy-drama, which was inspired by Tatum’s own stripper past, tells the story of a young male exotic dancer named Mike (Tatum), who is the star at a Tampa strip club.
In 2015, Tatum starred in “Magic Mike XXL.” He returned to the franchise a third time in 2023 in “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” following his split with Dewan.
The “Magic Mike” character has also inspired “extremely lucrative live shows and other business activities,” Dewan’s petition states, such as a reality TV series in 2021 and a stage show in Las Vegas and London.
Dewan’s petition contends that Tatum and his business associates have “created a complex web of LLCs, holding companies and partnerships” in a “calculated” effort to “dilute and conceal the value of, and licensing income therefrom, the community property share of Magic Mike.”
She also accuses Tatum of making business decisions about “Magic Mike” during the marriage without her consent in an effort to “shelter” money from her.
Further, Dewan contends that her ex “failed to disclose Magic Mike business opportunities” to her following their 2018 split.
Dewan is also requesting an additional trial, pending the outcome of this week’s trial, in order to determine how the couple should divide their assets.
Tatum’s lawyers responded to Dewan’s petition in an April 10 filing, also obtained by NBC News, that states that the actor “never denied Petitioner of her share of the community assets or income.”
The filing called Dewan’s petition a “last ditch effort” to “further delay” the couple’s divorce case, which has stretched on for more than five years.
Tatum’s filing states that Dewan has “been involved in all aspects of community investments, opportunities and transactions” related to “Magic Mike.”
But it argues that Tatum “continued to create and develop” the “Magic Mike” character after the couple’s split, which should “give rise to his separate property interest therein.”
Tatum and Dewan fell in love on the set of the 2006 dance romance “Step Up,” and married in 2009. The former spouses share a 10-year-old daughter named Everly.
Dewan found love again with fiancée Steve Kazee. The couple, who are expecting their second child, are already parents to a 4-year-old son named Calum.
Tatum has been dating “Big Little Lies” star Zoë Kravitz since 2021. A source confirmed the couple’s engagement to TODAY.com in October 2023.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
