Sofía Vergara at the "Griselda" premiere in Miami Beach
Sofía Vergara attends the "Griselda" premiere at The Fillmore Miami Beach on Jan. 23, 2024, in Miami Beach, Florida. Romain Maurice/Getty Images

Sofia Vergara is being sued by Michael Corleone Blanco, the sole surviving child of late cocaine queenpin Griselda Blanco.

Vergara stars as the Colombian drug lord on Netflix's "Griselda," a six-episode miniseries that premiered on Thursday, Jan. 25.

"Griselda" depicts the elder Blanco's rise in the underworld, which in real life contributed to an especially violent period covering the late 1970s and early '80s known today as Miami's "Cocaine Cowboys" era.

According to NBC Miami, the younger Blanco, 45, is suing the 51-year-old actress, "Netflix, and others involved" in the production of "Griselda," which has a 7.9 rating on Internet Movie Database and a score of 87 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.


The younger Blanco criticized Vergara for her portrayal of his mother on the new crime drama, calling the actress' depiction a "slap in the face" and "disrespectful," according to a Jan. 24 article published by the Daily Mail.

"Sofia Vergara did not consult with any members of the Blanco family as a sign of respect or elicit family details in portraying Griselda," Blanco's lawyer, Elysa Galloway, wrote to the Daily Mail. "When Michael learned of the Griselda project, we reached out to Sofia's camp and offered Michael's consultation services.

"They extended an invitation for us to sit with them to tell us there was no room on the project," the statement continued. "Sofia's camp and the Netflix creators were disrespectful and ultimately produced the Griselda project on their own for commercial gain, without key details from the Blanco family."

Aurora Cossio, Sofia Vergara, Karol G, Paulina Davila and Juliana Martinez at the "Griselda" premiere in Miami Beach
(L-R) Aurora Cossio, Sofia Vergara, Karol G, Paulina Davila and Juliana Martinez attend the "Griselda" premiere at The Fillmore Miami Beach on Jan. 23, 2024, in Miami Beach, Florida. Romain Maurice/Getty Images

Blanco's legal team is aiming for "an emergency temporary injunction to stop the release" of the miniseries, "as well as damages exceeding $50,000," reported NBC Miami. The suit, filed in Miami-Dade federal court, claims the show uses "unauthorized image, likeness and/or identity of family members."

As of 9 p.m. EST Thursday, Jan. 25, the show was still streaming on Netflix.

Griselda Blanco, of Cartagena, Colombia, was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 1985, spending nearly the next two decades behind bars. The mother of four was convicted of three counts of second degree murder and conspiring to manufacture, import, and distribute cocaine into the country.

On Sept. 3, 2012, Blanco was exiting a butcher shop with her pregnant daughter-in-law when she was assassinated in Medellin, Colombia, by a gunman mounted on a motorcycle. She was 69.