When the cameras stop rolling, the lawsuits start flying! Join us as we examine infamous cases where documentary subjects fought back against filmmakers in court. From celebrities feeling betrayed to corporations protecting their image, these films sparked legal battles with millions of dollars at stake!
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00:00I am not guilty of these allegations, but if I am guilty of anything, it is of giving all that I have to have.
00:08Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're examining infamous times when subjects of, or those connected to,
00:14a documentary film or TV series issued a lawsuit against the creators or those related to the production.
00:20SeaWorld executives claim the film was having no impact, even though investors claim
00:25they have now uncovered evidence showing SeaWorld knew Blackfish was keeping visitors away.
00:32Backfiring lawsuit, The Carter.
00:34The 2009 documentary The Carter was about the life of Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.,
00:40better known as Lil Wayne, in the lead-up to releasing his 2008 album The Carter III.
00:45Reportedly, Wayne was delighted with the final cut.
00:47For me, for Lil Wayne, it began in New Orleans.
00:51However, upon its second screening at the 25th Sundance Film Festival, the rapper initiated
00:57a $50 million lawsuit against its release.
01:00Wayne claimed The Carter contained footage that he was promised would be removed.
01:04That'd be better for us as listeners.
01:06However, the judge threw the suit out.
01:08Regardless, The Carter had to resort to coming out on iTunes and DVD.
01:12In 2012, after further lawsuits between Wayne and the film's producer, Quincy Jones III,
01:18the rapper went viral with his deposition.
01:20He lost the case and had to pay Jones nearly $2.2 million.
01:30Irreparably harmed reputation.
01:32Quiet on set.
01:34The dark side of kids' TV.
01:35After years of rumors, in 2024, the documentary series Quiet on set.
01:40The dark side of kids' TV shone a spotlight on the murky world of Nickelodeon.
01:45One of the production's main subjects was the explosive allegations against former children's
01:50TV creator Dan Schneider, who was accused of fostering a toxic work environment and misconduct
01:55against children.
01:56By the late 2000s, Dan had more control than pretty much any showrunner at Nickelodeon.
02:03In the aftermath, Schneider issued a lawsuit against the show's producers, claiming it irreparably
02:08harmed his reputation.
02:10Schneider now alleges the portrayal of him is a, quote, hit job.
02:14While he apologized for his on-set behavior, the TV writer denied the allegations he knew
02:19of or participated in any abuse of the underage stars, which he believed the series implied.
02:25In November 2024, the lawsuit was given the go-ahead by a judge to proceed.
02:29I could be cocky and definitely overambitious, and sometimes just straight-up rude and obnoxious,
02:36and I am so sorry that I ever was.
02:39Outtake Outrage, Crude.
02:41Produced and directed by Joe Berlinger, 2009's Crude detailed the lawsuit issued by Ecuadorians
02:47residing in the Amazon rainforest against the oil and gas company, the Chevron Corporation.
02:52The total area in which Texaco polluted is about the size of the state of Rhode Island.
02:57We are suing for environmental cleanup.
02:59The residents believe the company had polluted their land.
03:02After Judge Lewis Kaplan allowed Chevron access to the outtakes following a lawsuit against
03:07the creators, it found footage of lawyer Steven Donziger discussing unsavory tactics to beat
03:13the company in court.
03:18After the oil firm lost the original lawsuit and had to pay nearly $19 billion, in 2014 Kaplan
03:25ruled against the previous judgment by citing fraud from the Ecuadorians' U.S. lawyers,
03:30as seen in the outtakes.
03:32Kaplan also controversially ruled that Donziger had committed fraud.
03:37The lawyer was later disbarred.
03:39The reason I'm locked up is because we were successful.
03:42The double suit.
03:43Tabloid.
03:44In what is sometimes known as the Manacled Mormon case, in 1977, Joyce McKinney was accused
03:50by Mormon missionary Kirk Anderson of abducting and abusing him in England over several days.
03:56Weirdly, she became a sort of celebrity for a time.
03:59I would never do anything to hurt Kirk Anderson or slander him.
04:03In 2010, Tabloid was released, which examined the case and the newspaper's fascination with
04:09McKinney.
04:10They had painted a totally different picture of me.
04:12If I was well-educated, they made me stupid.
04:16In 2011, she issued a lawsuit against the director Errol Morris, stating she was misled about the
04:22film's intention and that he defamed her.
04:24Morris won the case.
04:26However, McKinney wasn't done, and she issued another suit in 2016.
04:30Along with similar claims, she also accused Morris of breaking into her home and stealing,
04:35as well as threatening to harm her service dog.
04:37This case was thrown out.
04:39Serious accusation.
04:41The case of JonBenet Ramsey.
04:43In 1996, child pageant star JonBenet Ramsey was murdered in her home in Boulder, Colorado.
04:49While the case has gripped the US and led to many theories, no one has been sentenced for
04:54the crime.
04:54The family has denied being involved for decades.
04:57In 2016, CBS released the docu-series The Case of JonBenet Ramsey, which examined the case
05:04and speculated who could have been responsible.
05:06It's very likely they know who did it.
05:09They may still be trying to figure out why did this happen.
05:12JonBenet's brother, Burke Ramsey, soon issued lawsuits against CBS, forensic pathologist
05:17Dr. Werner Spitz, and others for defamation, as he was accused of the crime.
05:22The lawsuit alleges the experts on the program itself knew that Burke Ramsey had been excluded
05:27as a suspect by the authorities.
05:29Altogether, he was requesting $250 million in compensatory damages and no less than $500
05:35million in punitive damages.
05:37In 2019, the case was settled out of court.
05:41The brother of JonBenet Ramsey has reached a settlement with CBS.
05:45Investors misled.
05:46Blackfish.
05:47In 2013, the landscape of SeaWorld was changed forever upon the release of Blackfish, focusing
05:53on the captivity of Tilikum, an orca which had taken three human lives, and how orcas are
05:59treated by the company.
06:00Many people were disgusted at the allegations.
06:02I think that in 50 years, we'll look back and go, my god, what a barbaric time.
06:07In 2014, investors issued a lawsuit against SeaWorld for misleading them.
06:12They alleged that the company had lied about the negative impact the documentary had had
06:16on its revenue, as people stopped visiting the parks and had artificially inflated share
06:21prices.
06:22The year that movie came out, SeaWorld's Orlando's attendance dropped 8 percent.
06:27In 2020, a judge agreed to a $65 million settlement.
06:30This was on top of the $5 million 2018 judgment against SeaWorld and its former CEO, James
06:37Acheson, on similar federal charges.
06:40Upon news of this settlement this morning, SeaWorld's shares spiked to a 52-week high.
06:45The non-disparagement clause.
06:47Leaving Neverland.
06:49After Michael Jackson was acquitted of child molestation charges in 2005, speculation about
06:54the nature of his relationships with children tainted his reputation.
06:58He was already larger than life.
07:00And then he likes you.
07:02In 2019, the creators of Leaving Neverland wanted to examine the experience of two alleged
07:08victims.
07:09However, shortly after the film premiered at Sundance, Jackson's estate issued a lawsuit
07:14against HBO for ignoring a non-disparagement clause.
07:17The group claimed that when the broadcaster signed a deal to show one of Jackson's concerts
07:22in 1992, there was a clause stating HBO couldn't make disparaging remarks about the singer or
07:27those tied to him.
07:28The lawsuit calls the documentary a one-sided marathon of unvetted propaganda to shamelessly
07:35exploit an innocent man.
07:37As such, the estate demanded over $100 million.
07:40In 2020, after appealing, HBO was ordered to go to arbitration with Jackson's estate, but both sides agreed to dismiss in 2024.
07:49Battling the broadcaster.
07:51The uncounted enemy of Vietnam Deception.
07:53In 1982, the docu-series CBS Reports released the episode The Uncounted Enemy of Vietnam Deception.
08:01It detailed allegations that General William Westmoreland had manipulated intelligence reports
08:06that there were fewer communists in South Vietnam in 1967, which the U.S. was at war with at the time.
08:13Westmoreland was there commanding the 25,000 American advisors in 1964, urging the president
08:19to commit combat troops in 1965.
08:22This figure editing would then give the impression to the states that the country's invasion was successful
08:27when it actually wasn't.
08:29We'll prevail in Vietnam over the communist aggression.
08:32As a result, Westmoreland issued a $120 million lawsuit for defamation against CBS and the episode's producers.
08:40In 1985, the trial got underway.
08:43However, believing the jury was seemingly siding with CBS, Westmoreland settled the case out of court
08:49before a verdict was reached.
08:51I made the decision.
08:53It was my responsibility.
08:54I don't regret making it.
08:56Jumping to conclusions.
08:57Diddy, the making of a bad boy.
08:59In 2023, several women came forward with misconduct allegations about Sean Combs,
09:05also known as the musician and record producer Diddy.
09:08He was arrested, and at the time of writing, is awaiting his trial.
09:11In 2025, NBC, through its Peacock streaming service, released the documentary film
09:17Diddy, the making of a bad boy, which explored several allegations, including those that he
09:22was responsible for the deaths of various people, such as Kim Porter.
09:26Kim dying is one of those stop-you-in-your-tracks moments.
09:30In response, Combs filed a lawsuit against the broadcaster.
09:33The documentary maliciously accuses Mr. Combs of murdering the love of his life and mother
09:38to his children, Kimberly Porter.
09:40He claimed the documentary maliciously and baselessly jumps to the conclusion about Diddy's alleged
09:45criminal exploits.
09:47As such, he believed the film caused economic harm to him, resulting in him demanding $100
09:52million in damages.
09:53The documentary advances the false narrative that it cannot be a coincidence that Ms.
09:58Porter and others in Mr. Combs' orbit have died.
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10:15Defamation Claims
10:18Chris Brown
10:19A History of Violence
10:21Allegations of abuse made against high-profile figures are unfortunately destined to cause a
10:27media frenzy.
10:28And Chris Brown's legal situation is no different.
10:30Over the years, there have been various claims of Brown's violent behavior, to varying degrees
10:35of public knowledge.
10:36He said…
10:37An investigative 2024 documentary outlined these cases, to the obvious detriment to
10:45Brown's image.
10:46Obviously, somebody's looking to get a check.
10:49In response, Brown filed a defamation suit against Warner Bros. Discovery for $500 million.
10:54His team claims that the accounts at the heart of the documentary are false, despite the numerous
11:00allegations to the contrary.
11:02Their actions undermine not only Mr. Brown's decade-long efforts to rebuild his life, but
11:06also the credibility of true survivors of violence.
11:09Are there any other cases of people suing documentary filmmakers that we missed in our video?
11:15Let us know below.
11:16Chevron has even stated that they spent over a billion dollars in prosecuting Donziger.