Media Stars Fight Law Suits ~ Emerald Quill

Jul 11, 2012

Media Stars Fight Law Suits

7/11/2012 Celestine Green No comments

One of the trials and tribulations of the rich and famous is the pesty laws suits filed by fans, friends and foes alike. Take a look at some of the behind the scenes drama your well know on screen personalities have faced.

In July 2011,Christian rocker Bradlee Dean sued MSNBC host Rachael Maddow claiming she mischaracterized his views on gay rights and Sharia law. Dean, filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit. He said that Maddow omitted a line from his statement, in which the Christian rocker said he was against the killing of gay people. Maddow, however, read the line. MSNBC and Maddow pushed back against the lawsuit, calling for its dismissal.

Ultimately, Judge Joan Zeldon ordered to Dean to pay the MSNBC host's legal fees, a total of $24,625.23 after the suit was dismissed.

Talking Points Memo reports that an indignant Dean fired back at Zeldon on Tuesday, seeking her recusal from the case. "Judges are to enforce the law, not to defend lawbreakers and then award them money,” he said in a statement.

Dean's lawyer Larry Klayman has filed a notice against the judge, claiming that she was biased in favor of the defendants. "Judge Zeldon mocked and ridiculed Plaintiffs and their counsel while, to the contrary, Judge Zeldon referred to Defendants’ counsel approvingly as ‘distinguished,’ stating in effect that Plaintiffs and their counsel are not,” the notice reads. Dean even alleged that Zeldon's behavior was typical of a "woman scorned."

Another show host faced the ire of an unhappy subject of an on air story. Conservative video prankster James O’Keefe filed a lawsuit against excitable cable-news anchor Keith Olbermann and his former network, Current TV, for stating he’d been convicted of a felony and accused of rape.

O’Keefe is the famous undercover video blogger who posed as a pimp to catch a staffer of the community activist group ACORN and, later, to capture a public radio fundraiser ripping the Republicans.

On an Olbermann show, a guest, cable reporter David Schuster, characterized O’Keefe as “a convicted felon” and the suspect in a rape allegation from a former co-worker. Turns out O’Keefe pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and had been accused of harassment, but the charges were dropped for lack of evidence.

“MSM (Mainstream media) will say, do anything to stop a citizen journalist they cannot control,” O’Keefe tweeted.

MSNBC's Ed Schultz is being sued by an NBC News employee who claims he helped Schultz break into TV—and was then stiffed out of his rightful share of earnings.

Michael Queen, an engineer in NBC's Washington bureau, filed a federal lawsuit against Schultz for at least $100,000—the amount Queen says he is owed as a portion of the profits from "The Ed Show." Queen claimed in a press release that it was his idea to get Schultz on television, and that Schultz said, "any TV deal will obviously involve you." MSNBC President Phil Griffin turned the idea down, Queen alleges, only to change his mind a year later—when, according to Queen, Schultz went ahead without him, and cut him out of any financial windfall from the deal.

"We pitched the TV idea to various network executives, produced a TV pilot, secured an apartment in D.C. for Ed and his wife Wendy and even gave them a car to drive free for three months," Queen said in the release. "We picked them up at the airport, and went shopping for them – all while helping them become millionaires, and we received nothing for our efforts!"

Jeffrey Landa, Schultz' lawyer, told TVNewser that the suit is bogus, since the two never signed any contract, and that Schultz paid Queen "every cent" he was owed.

“There is one email that Ed sent years ago that basically said if Queen got him the show on WUSA, he wouldn’t do the show without him," Landa said, adding that, since the show was never made, Queen was not entitled to anything.

Financial Guru Suze Orman cautions listeners about loaning money to family and friends. Here’s an example of why she gives that advice.

MSNBC weekend morning anchor, Alex Witt, is reportedly being sued by her former friend for failing to pay off a $65,000 loan.

In December 2009, Witt was going through financial troubles. She sought help from friend Stephanie Jones, a thriving New York City lawyer. Allegedly Jones wrote Witt a check for $65,000 at 7.5 percent interest.

In court papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Witt apparently agreed to pay Jones $500 a month, but failed to be consistent with the payments. She has only repaid her friend a bit over $1,375, according sources familiar with the details.

The 49-year-old host explained to Jones that her TV-producer husband, Bill Sorensen, was unemployed, and that she was waiting on a new contract from MSNBC. In an e-mail to Jones in February 2010, Witt wrote: "I could cite example after example of strained living, beginning with not affording new clothes for myself -- this is for a woman who works on TV, and whose professional existence depends on keeping up appearances."

In addition to the $65,000, Jones is seeking unspecified damages, and a promise that Witt never contact her again.

Witt signed a $200,000 contract with MSNBC in the fall.

MSNBC show hosts aren't the only media personalities finding themselves in the courts.

The View star Barbara Walters has been sued over allegations that she lied and defamed a woman in her 2008 autobiography Audition: A Memoir.

Nancy Shay is suing for defamation after being allegedly subject to an unflattering portrayal in Walters' memoirs, Shay claims to have had a relationship with Walter's daughter nearly 30 years ago when both were teenagers. Shay says she was expelled from school at Walters' behest back then, thus ruining her life, and was bullied to remain silent all these years. Now, A memorandum to the court on Thursday spells it out further, saying that further discovery in the case will show that the two girls were engaged in a lesbian relationship that was sanctioned by students and faculty at the school.

"Barbara Walters used her influence and power to have Plaintiff Nancy Shay expelled from the Wykeham Rise School, when the Plaintiff was about 16 years of age. This interference was motivated by Defendant’s desire to end a relationship the Plaintiff was having with Jackie Guber, Walters’ adopted daughter."

Shay claims Walters’ actions “ruined her life”.

A homeless man was found living in Ann Curry's unoccupied Upper West Side house on-and-off for the past year. A neighbor discovered the man sleeping in the vestibule of the $2.9 million townhouse on Saturday and reported him to the police, who brought him to a homeless shelter. He told the New York Post that he did not know the identity of the homeowner, saying "Ann Curry means crap to me!"

He also offered to compromise, saying, "I'll go back if someone says, 'Here's the key. Maintain the building." The man, who said he had been chased out of Central Park, explained that he first sought refuge in the building last year after contractors failed to lock up, and spent the majority of the winter there.

He is the second homeless man to be found living in Curry's house in the past year. The house has provided a steady stream of trouble for Curry, who purchased the four-story townhouse on West 71st Street with her husband, Brian Ross, in 2003. The couple had intended to build an 18-foot penthouse addition, but halted plans after receiving building code violations.

The house has also been the target of several lawsuits from at least four neighbors complaining about noise and safety, and worried that homeless people will accidentally set fire to the home trying to keep warm in the winter. John Lee, one of the neighbors, called the house "an eyesore and a problem, and said, "People end up sitting on that stoop and making noise and drinking."

Curry currently lives in a co-op in Gramercy Park. At the time of the controversy, an NBC spokesperson released a statement saying, "Ann Curry is currently traveling to Africa to cover the humanitarian crisis and could not be reached for comment."

Ann Curry has left the Today show, moving on to pursue her career goals. In spite of the media buzz around her ouster from the show, Ann conducted herself with quite dignity and will be missed by her loyal fans.

Ryan Seacrest went into the Bravo business. His Ryan Seacrest Productions partnered with Bravo on a docu-series titled "Shahs of Sunset." The series follows a group of young Persian-American friends who juggle their flamboyant, fast-paced L.A. lifestyles with the demands of their families and traditions.

Before the show aired, Ryan Seacrest, Bravo TV, and others faced a lawsuit for the show , which has been dubbed “the Persian Jersey Shore.”

Entertainment Weekly has obtained papers filed by show participant Kathy Salem against Seacrest, his production company, Bravo TV, and Berne Prods. In the suit, Salem claims production staffers misrepresented themselves, showed her only parts of the TV release waiver she signed, and defrauded her.

She also claims she was “verbally abused and physically assaulted” at a party filmed for the series, including the fact that “someone tried to strip [her] top off and another cast member by the name of Reza threw a cup of water in [her] face.” Salem alleges the defendants’ actions exceeded all bounds of decency and was outrageous, intentional, malicious, and done for the purpose of causing [Salem] to suffer extreme and severe emotional distress,” which has impacted her physical health.
Salem is seeking an injunction against airing all footage featuring her and at least $100,000 in damages, plus legal fees. Seacrest’s representatives declined to comment on the litigation. Shahs of Sunset premiered in February 2012.

Bravo TV released a comment to EW regarding the suit: “Bravo has not seen a copy of the complaint, and thus we cannot comment. In case you were unaware, Ryan Seacrest Productions certainly knows how to mine reality gold -- they're the people behind the Kardashians' reality empire.