In attempts to get Chris Brown’s defamation suit dismissed, defendants tied to a 2024 ID documentary have name-dropped his exes.
Rihanna is one of Chris Brown’s ex-girlfriends whose name has been dragged back into his legal battle as more evidence of his criminal past is submitted in attempts to dismiss a defamation lawsuit. (AP Photo)
Chris Brown has survived a number of controversies and legal battles. Throughout the years-long troubled history of the R&B musician, perhaps the most infamous account is still the 2009 domestic violence incident involving his then-girlfriend Rihanna. That rocky relationship is likely to be tossed in headlines again as the “Under the Influence” viral hit-maker’s former girlfriends Rihanna and Karrueche Tran will be name-dropped in Brown’s ongoing $500 million court battle, according to InTouch Weekly.
Defamation lawsuit that followed an ID documentary
The singer has continued to be embroiled in legal issues as multiple new assault allegations surfaced last year. Four concertgoers accused Chris Brown and his entourage members of assaulting them backstage after a show, as per People. The accusers also sued them and Live Nation for $50 million. Months later, Investigation Discovery (ID) released the documentary, Chris Brown: A History of Violence. It documented several women speaking up against the singer, bringing back attention to his criminal past of alleged abuse.
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A Jane Doe even said that Brown raped her in 2020 on Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ yacht. Although he denied the allegations, the 2024 Chris Brown documentary reignited questions about the artist’s career repeatedly surviving such severe blows. The woman in questioned also sued him for sexual assault and battery in 2022. However, the lawsuit was dismissed “without prejudice,” which meant that it could be refiled.
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In the aftermath of the ID documentary’s release, Chris filed a $500 million lawsuit against Warner Bros (as it owns Discovery), alleging that the producers tampered with the evidence against him by depending on an unreliable accuser. He also said that a portion of the damages he secures from the suit would be donated to survivors of sexual abuse.
Brown maintains that the accuser fabricated her claims. His suit even cites a domestic violence restraining order against the Jane Doe, stating her “history of violence and erratic behavior should have raised red flags for any responsible journalist.” Once deemed the ‘King of R&B,” Chris especially took issue with falsely being branded a “serial rapist and sexual abuser.”
Consequently, the “Forever” singer’s lawyer added, “Mr Brown has never been found guilty of any sex related crime (rape, sexual battery, sexual assault etc.) but this documentary states in every available fashion that he is a serial rapist and sexual abuser.”
Chris Brown documentary producers provide additional evidence
InTouch now reports that the producers of the 2024 doc are doing everything in their capacity to get the defamation lawsuit dismissed. Part of these efforts have been centred around submitting new evidence in court. After having previously denied claims of any wrongdoing on their part, Warner Bros and the producers’ lawyer asserted, “[Chris’] claims are barred, in whole or in part, to the extent that any statements and/or alleged implications that form the basis for the claims could be interpreted as asserting verifiable facts, those facts are not materially false and/or are substantially true.”
The new filings from their side include submissions of a series of news articles that address Chris Brown’s legal clashes over the years. “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, namely the Documentary and the widely publicized reporting of Chris Brown’s criminal history and violence towards women, and are being introduced to demonstrate that the Complaint arises from acts in furtherance of Defendants’ free speech rights,” the lawyer said.
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The articles in focus redirect attention to the time when the singer was arrested for domestic violence after assaulting his ex Rihanna. At the time, Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault. He was ultimately ordered to fix years of probation and domestic violence counselling.
A separate article presented as evidence spoke of a five-year restraining order Karrueche Tran was granted in 2017. She had an on-again, off-again relationship with Brown starting in 2011. Tran ultimately called things off in the mid-2010s. According to videos circulating online, the pair reunited at Coachella in April.
Michelle Taylor, another defendant who spoke during the documentary, hit back against Brown’s defamation lawsuit. Although the “Loyal” singer did not publicly have issues with any of the statements she made in the ID release, she said that one of the statements he’s been severely offended by emerges from “undisputed facts” tied to his assault of Rihanna.
She claimed that those comments were fuelled by “widely-reported, fully disclosed, and undisputed facts regarding [Chris’] highly-publicized assault of his ex-girlfriend Rihanna, as well as numerous incidents of [Chris] threatening or violently assaulting others—all of which are discussed in detail in the Documentary,” the defendant added.
