Chris Brown sues Warner Bros for $500M over 'defamatory' docuseries
What's the story
American singer Chris Brown has filed a defamation lawsuit seeking $500 million in damages against Warner Bros. Discovery and Ample Entertainment, the producers of the docuseries Chris Brown: A History of Violence.
The singer (35) alleges that the series promotes defamatory claims about him, including an accusation of rape in 2020, despite being provided with evidence to refute these allegations, reported TMZ.
The series was released in October 2024.
Accuser discredited
Brown's lawsuit highlights discredited accuser in docuseries
Brown's lawsuit stresses that the focus of the docuseries—Jane Doe—has been discredited on multiple occasions.
It also mentions that she had previously withdrawn a lawsuit against him.
The complaint also adds that Doe was "a perpetrator of intimate partner violence and aggressor herself."
In 2022, a judge dismissed Doe's $20 million lawsuit against Brown for lack of prosecution.
Conviction denial
Brown denies ever being convicted of a sex-related crime
In his lawsuit, Brown claims he has never been convicted "of any sex-related crime."
He has criticised the producers for branding him "a serial rapist and a sexual abuser" in the series.
The singer alleges that the producers ignored facts and defamed him and his reputation, which he says he has spent over a decade rebuilding after his 2009 domestic violence incident with ex-girlfriend Rihanna.
Damage claims
Brown claims docuseries harmed his reputation and career
Brown claims that the docuseries has harmed his reputation, career, and business opportunities.
He reportedly intends to donate a portion of any awarded sum to victims of sexual abuse.
A lawyer for Brown told Investigation Discovery that Doe's claims were "entirely fabricated" and criticized the docuseries as "malicious and false."
The suit adds that the singer has openly acknowledged and addressed his past mistakes in his 2017 documentary Chris Brown: Welcome To My Life.