A $500 million lawsuit in connection with the 2024 documentary, Chris Brown: A History of Violence, has been tossed.
Almost one year ago, Chris Brown brought on the defamation lawsuit against Warner Bros Discovery and Ample Entertainment, the production company behind the show. The 36-year-old artist accused the companies of “promoting and publishing false information in the pursuit of likes, clicks, downloads, and dollars.”
Brown’s legal team publicly condemned the documentary following its release. His attorney, Levi McCathern, accused the companies involved of damaging Brown’s reputation. “That’s not right and that’s not good and I’ll just say it right here shame on you, Warner Bros.,” McCathern said. “Shame on you big companies for doing this to people‘s lives because at the end of the day people are more important than companies.”
However, on Monday, a Los Angeles judge ruled that Investigation Discovery complied with journalistic standards in its 2024 documentary, which chronicled domestic and sexual abuse allegations against the R&B star.
“The court has personally viewed the entire documentary. The documentary recites most of the inconsistencies plaintiff notes, including the existence of the text messages,” wrote Judge Colin Leis.
He added, “Media defendants thus presented a ‘fair and true’ report of statements and the judicial record and proceedings.”
Judge Leis also decreed there was no merit to Brown’s claim that the network defamed him by including an interview in which culture writer Scaachi Koul said the singer had a “predisposition for punching women in the face.”
As the judge pointed out, Brown “has admitted to punching the singer Rihanna”.
The ruling puts a hard stop on what Brown hoped would be a massive legal win.