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Judge tosses Chris Brown’s $500M defamation lawsuit over ‘A History of Violence’ documentary

Opinion by Ashley King

Chris Brown lawsuit tossed© Photo Credit: Pelpa Time Production / CC by 3.0

A judge dismisses Chris Brown’s $500 million defamation suit against Warner Bros. Discovery over the documentary “Chris Brown: A History of Violence.”

Chris Brown’s aggressive lawsuit against Warner Bros. Discovery and Ample Entertainment over the documentary “Chris Brown: A History of Violence” has been quickly shot down by a Los Angeles judge. According to Judge Colin Leis, the documentary presents “fair and true” reporting of statements and proceedings surrounding the history of sexual abuse allegations against the R&B singer, and does not constitute defamation.

Last year, Brown filed the defamation suit against Warner Bros. Discovery and Ample Entertainment, the production company behind the documentary, with allegations of “promoting and publishing false information in the pursuit of likes, clicks, downloads, and dollars.” His legal team publicly condemned the film and accused the companies behind it of damaging his reputation.

But Judge Leis ruled that the research behind the 2024 documentary chronicling the domestic and sexual abuse allegations against Brown complied with journalistic standards. Under California’s anti-SLAPP law, Brown failed to establish the “minimal merit” necessary to move forward with his claims against journalists.

“The court has personally viewed the entire documentary. The documentary recites most of the inconsistencies plaintiff notes,” wrote Judge Leis. “Media defendants thus presented a ‘fair and true’ report of statements and the judicial record and proceedings.”

Further, Judge Leis determined that there was no merit to Brown’s allegations that the network defamed him by including a clip from an interview with culture writer Scaachi Koul, who said the singer has a “predisposition for punching women in the face.” The judge pointed out that Brown “has admitted to punching the singer Rihanna” in the face—a fact he has famously not disputed.

“[Brown] presents no evidence that Scaachi Koul’s opinions about [his] predilections are false,” writes the judge.

At its core, Chris Brown’s history of violence is well-documented in the form of a legal paper trail. Of course, his most infamous moment came in 2009 when he pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna when the two were still dating.

Then, in 2014, he pleaded guilty to punching a man outside a Washington, D.C., hotel. In 2016, a model claimed the singer assaulted her at a Las Vegas casino, but police said there was not enough evidence to press charges. The following year, Brown was issued a court order to stay away from ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran after she claimed he made threats against her life.