Warner Bros names Rihanna to negate Chris Brown’s defamation lawsuit
R&B singer Chris Brown filed a massive lawsuit against Warner Bros and Ample for $500 million earlier this year, claiming that they defamed him and “sensationalised” stories about his past. The ‘Run It’ vocalist alleged that a series that they aired about him in a documentary featured already “debunked” claims about his criminal record and asserted that they made him out to be a “serial rapist and sexual abuser.”
Court documents filed by his legal team read, “Despite being provided with proof that their narrative was false, they went ahead and aired the series anyway.” They added, “To put it simply, this case is about the media putting their own profits over the truth.”
In his filing, Brown also highlighted how an anonymous female filed a sexual assault lawsuit against him that was proven to be false, accusing her of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Brown’s legal team emphasised how, in 2022, a judge concluded that the story was false, writing, “It was determined to be entirely fabricated, leading to the withdrawal of her attorneys and dismissal of the case on August 25, 2022, after a Miami Beach Police detective uncovered text messages sent by [Jane Doe] that exposed her dishonesty.”
Irrespective of the ‘Kiss Kiss’ singer’s insistence, Warner Bros has fired back and named Rihanna in their response as evidence of Brown’s abusive past. As reported by In Touch magazine, Rihanna and Karrueche Tran were namedropped as proof of Brown’s behaviour.
Warner Bros legal took aim at Brown, writing, “All of these exhibits consist of news articles or other media, published online about the work at issue in this case and its subject matter.”
They continued, “The widely publicised reporting of Chris Brown’s criminal history and violence towards women […] are being introduced to demonstrate that the Complaint arises from acts in furtherance of Defendants’ free speech rights.”
Brown was arrested for domestic violence after assaulting Rihanna and was given five years of probation and domestic violence counselling. Karrueche Tran also placed a restraining order on Brown in 2017.