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Topics: Rihanna, Warner Bros, Crime, Film and TV
Emily Brown
Topics: Rihanna, Warner Bros, Crime, Film and TV
Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
Chris Brown has filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. in relation to allegations made in Investigation Discovery's 2024 documentary, Chris Brown: A History of Violence.
Released in October last year, the film explores allegations of domestic violence, assault and sexual misconduct from Brown, who has previously been charged with felony assault and making criminal threats after a physical altercation with his girlfriend at the time, Rihanna.
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The documentary features an interview with an unnamed woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by Brown in December 2020; her story forming part of a chronological telling of the allegations which have been made against Brown since his assault against Rihanna in 2009.
Attorneys for Brown denied the claims made in the documentary at the time, but following its release lawyers for Brown have now filed a lawsuit in California's Superior Court for Los Angeles County which accuses Warner Bros. of falsely labeling him in the documentary as a serial rapist and abuser.
According to the court documents reviewed by People, the singer is asking for $500,000,000 as he accuses Warner Bros., Ample, and the documentary's producers for alleged defamation-libel and infliction of emotional distress, as well as damage to his career and business opportunities.
The document states: "This case is about the media putting their own profits over the truth."
The lawsuit, filed on January 21, claims the alleged victim who spoke out in the documentary had previously been 'discredited' and claimed she had been found to be a 'perpetrator of intimate partner violence and aggressor herself'.
Lawyers included screenshots which purported to show a restraining order filed by the alleged victim's boyfriend in 2021, which claimed she had assaulted him, harassed him online and threatened him with a knife.
"After being put on notice that their documentary contained false claims and violated journalistic professional standards, Defendants persisted in releasing this Documentary," the complaint said, noting that Brown has not been convicted of any sex crimes and that he has worked hard at 'redeeming' his reputation since pleading guilty to one count of felony assault in 2009.
"Mr. Brown has grown from those experiences, and his evolution speaks for itself," the lawsuit went on. "This new production ignores that growth, choosing instead to repackage stale accusations while amplifying them with demonstrable falsehoods."
In a statement to People, Brown's attorney, Levi McCathern, said: "This case is about protecting the truth. Despite being provided with evidence disproving their claims, the producers of this documentary intentionally promoted false and defamatory information, knowingly disregarding their ethical obligations as journalists.
"Their actions undermine not only Mr. Brown's decade-long efforts to rebuild his life but also the credibility of true survivors of violence."
UNILAD has reached out to Warner Bros. for comment.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org