Even though Ali has been out of the spotlight in recent years, she's still been developing projects behind the scenes. One such project, the actress claimed, bore a striking resemblance to talk show The Real. In July 2016, Deadline reported that Ali sued Warner Bros and Telepictures regarding an idea that she allegedly pitched to executives in 2012. In her suit, which can be read in full online, Ali claimed her talk show idea would appeal to "the younger side of the mid-life/mid-career female population" and would explore "a variety of contemporary discussion topics in a relaxed and informal setting." According to Deadline, The Real started airing around six months after Ali allegedly pitched the idea to the production company.
However, Ali's lawsuit was tossed out in February 2017. According to Deadline, "the court ruled that the trade secret laws upon which the actress made part of her claim does not protect ideas." The Trade Secrets Act protects "intellectual property," such as "a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique or process, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. But the court ruled that Ali's idea wasn't covered by this particular law. It's unclear whether she pursued the matter since, but one of the reasons we haven't heard from Ali as much in recent years could have to do with her legal issues behind-the-scenes.
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