At Megafest in Dallas last Friday, Erica Campbell of Mary Mary announced the hit WeTV reality show, "Mary Mary will be returning for a third season--this time without their former manager, Mitchell Solarek (Donald Lawrencec, Natalie Grant). A representative for the group said Solarek no longer has anything to do with Mary Mary either on or off camera. The representative said his replacement is Kenneth Crear (Ciara, Kardashians, Mindless Behavior), an entertainment exec with strong ties to mainstream.
But Solarek isn't walking away quietly. The ousted manager, who landed the reality show for the group, has filed a lawsuit alleging the duo owes him over $75,000 in outstanding commission and the loss of money he could be earning from music, merchandising, book sales and sponsorships.
TMZ reports Solarek's company, Maximum Artist Group filed a federal lawsuit against the group in Tennessee claiming "in 2011 helped "reignite" their career ... securing deals worth over $3 million."
Solarek came on board as the group's new manager with the release of their fifth studio album, "Something Big" (featuring the hit "I'm Walking").
Although their record sales have not always been reflective of their chart status, Mary Mary was already an in-demand group prior to Mitch coming on board. According to a 2011 press release, during their career, Erica and Tina have sold upwards of five million albums. In a remarkable and still ongoing story, Mary Mary's 2008 release, The Sound topped multiple charts and racked up a string of awards, including 2 Grammys, an American Music Award, a BET Award, a Soul Train Award, and an NAACP Image Award, among others. With such a track record it's hard to understand what aspect of their career needed to be "reignited."
We'll be bringing you more on this as details unfold.
Mary Mary's camp said they will not be responding to the accusation at this time.