Chris Brown filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. Discovery, alleging the media giant defamed him with a 2024 documentary claiming the R&B star had a long history of sexually abusing women.
Filed Tuesday, January 21 in Los Angeles Superior Court, the complaint accuses Warner Bros. Discovery and Ample Entertainment, the production company behind Chris Brown: A History of Violenceof “promoting and publishing false information in their quest for likes, clicks, downloads and money and to the detriment” of the R&B star – while “knowing that it was full of lies and deception and violated the fundamental journalistic principles.
“They did this after receiving proof that their information was false and that their narrative, ‘Jane Doe,’ had not only been repeatedly discredited, but that she was in fact a perpetrator of domestic violence and an abuser. herself,” says the lawsuit, which was filed by attorneys Arnold Shokouchi And Levi McCathern. “Mr. Brown has never been convicted of any sex-related crime…but this documentary states in every available way that he is a serial rapist and sexual assaulter.
The Jane Doe who made accusations of sexual assault against Brown in the documentary — whom he identifies in the lawsuit — is also named as a defendant in the complaint, which alleges that the woman “completely ignored the facts in an attempt to fame and fortune – all at any cost.” the cost of Chris Brown and the reputation he has worked diligently to redeem over the past decade.
The “sensationalist, unfounded and defamatory allegations” contained in the documentary “have been discredited, dismissed by the courts or outright fabricated,” Brown’s lawyers write. The lawsuit further alleges that Jane Doe filed a “frivolous civil action” against Brown in January 2022 in which she accused him of sexual assault and battery – but that her allegations “were found to be entirely fabricated, which which led to the withdrawal of his lawyers. and the dismissal of the case” that same August “after a Miami Beach police detective discovered text messages…that revealed his dishonesty.” » He adds that even if an investigation report published by rolling stone in March 2022, “having further discredited her claims”, the identity documentary nevertheless portrayed her “as credible, ignoring her established lack of veracity”.
Later in the complaint, Brown’s lawyers analyze the alleged “history of violence and erratic behavior (which) should have alerted any responsible journalist.” The suit includes a copy of an alleged restraining order filed against Doe by an ex-boyfriend in 2021 “after she physically assaulted him, threatened him with a knife and engaged in bullying.” online harassment.”
“These incidents, detailed in court records and leading to her arrest by the Los Angeles Police Department, were ignored by the defendants, who instead presented her as a reliable source to bolster their sensational portrayal instead of the perpetrator physical relationship in a romantic relationship,” the complaint reads.
Key to the lawsuit is the accusation that the companies behind the documentary went ahead with its release even though they knew it “contained false allegations and violated professional standards for journalists” – Brown’s lawyers now say that it “caused significant harm to Mr. Brown’s reputation.” career and business opportunities.
Several individuals who appeared as talking heads in the documentary are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Brown is seeking $500 million in damages, “a portion of which will be donated to survivors of sexual abuse.”
Warner Bros. Discovery and Ample Entertainment did not immediately respond to Billboard» requests for feedback.
