Actress In Anti-Muslim Film Sues Producer For Fraud
An actress in the "Innocence of Muslims" film that has set off worldwide Muslim outrage sued producer Nakoula Basseley Nakoula Wednesday for victim of fraud, invasion of privacy and misappropriation of her likeness.
In her complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Cindy Lee Garcia also names YouTube, where the video is posted, and its parent Google as causing irreparable harm to her for refusing to remove the content, CNN reported.
""The lawsuit is not an attack on the First Amendment or the right of Americans to say what they think," but it demands the content be pulled because "Ms. Garcia in no way consented to the use of her performance, image or likeness in such an offensive and file film," said her attorney, M. Cris Armenta.
In an interview with CNN, Garcia said she spoke with Nakoula, who is now in hiding, when the unrest began.
"He said he wrote the script because he wants the Muslims to quit killing," Garcia said. "I had no idea he was doing all this."
Last week, Garcia said she had been unaware that her voice was dubbed, but the lawsuit alleges even more voiceover alternations of her on-camera dialogue.
Nakoula's representations that he "intended to make an 'adventure film' and that plaintiff would be depicted as a concerned mother, were false," the suit asserts. "Defendant ... made an anti-Islam propaganda film, in which plaintiff is falsely made to appear to accuse the founder of the Islamic religion of being a sexual deviant and child molester."
It adds: "There was no mention of 'Mohammed' during filming or on set. There were no references made to religion nor was there any sexual content of which Ms. Garcia was aware."
A representative for Nakoula's criminal attorney declined to comment on the lawsuit, Reuters reported.
"We are reviewing the complaint and will be in court tomorrow," a Google spokesman said.
Last week the entire cast and crew of the "Innocnece of Muslims" issued a statement saying they had been duped and condemning the movie.
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday the filmmaker abused his right to freedom of expression by making the movie, which he called a "disgraceful and shameful act," Reuters reported.
"Freedoms of expression should be and must be guaranteed and protected, when they are used for common justice, common purpose," Ban told a news conference.
"When some people use this freedom of expression to provoke or humiliate some others' values and beliefs, then this cannot be protected in such a way."
"My position is that freedom of expression, while it is a fundamental right and privilege, should not be abused by such people, by such a disgraceful and shameful act," he said.
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.