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Hackensack resident Jermaine Grant, also known as the "Chief High Priest Tazadaqyah" of the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ.

(Courtesy of Emil Vicale Corp.)

NEW YORK CITY — A controversial church led by a Hackensack man has filed a lawsuit against a Connecticut toymaker, claiming action figures the company produced in his likeness weren't up to par.

According to the New York Daily News, the Harlem-based Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ is asking for the return of a $45,000 deposit and a $120,000 in damages from the Emil Vicale Corp. on the basis that it placed "pointed noses and faces" and lightened the skin of its leader, Jermaine Grant.

The Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ claims in a lawsuit that the doll pictured here is "light brown" not "dark brown", as the church requested.

The church preaches that blacks are among the lost tribes of Israel, and Grant — who also calls himself the "Chief High Priest Tazadaqyah" — has predicted that a black Jesus will kill or enslave all white people upon his return to Earth.

The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the church as a hate group. According to the SPLC's website, it maintains chapters in various cites around the country, including Jersey City, Vineland, Asbury Park and Camden.

Vicale Corp., based in Oxford, Conn., regularly produces action figures that bear likeness to controversial celebrities, including Sarah Palin, Anthony Weiner and Patricia Krencil, the so-called "Tan Mom" from Nutley.

According to the Daily News, Grant lives in a Hackensack home he purchased for $700,000 in 2005.

Related coverage

• Harlem church sues toymaker Emil Vicale after talking doll in leader's likeness is not black enough | New York Daily News

