Chris Brown Sues Warner Bros. In $500 Million Defamation Lawsuit Over Documentary

Controversial singer Chris Brown has sued Warner Bros. Discovery for defamation in association with their new documentary Chris Brown: A History of Violence.

He is seeking a minimum of $500 million in compensation, a portion of which he has promised to donate to survivors of sexual abuse.

In the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles, Brown accuses the studio’s producers of including discredited allegations of sexual assault and evidence tampering from an unreliable victim. Scaachi Koul, Sharon Carpenter, Michelle Taylor and Cheryl Dorsey are all named as producers involved in the documentary.

Chris Brown: A History of Violence was released in October and details the various instances of abuse that Brown has been accused of over the years. The film, in particular, focuses on Jane Doe who sued Brown in 2022 for sexual assault and battery for raping her on Sean Combs’ yacht. Jane Doe’s lawsuit was dismissed “without prejudice.”

In his lawsuit, Brown accused Jane Doe of lying about the instances and claimed that the documentary’s producers unjustly disregarded law enforcement’s conclusions. He also denounced the claim he had “manipulated or deleted text messages” in the 2022 case.

Brown further reported that he contacted the producers to express his concerns, but they chose to disregard his complaints, and their actions “Exhibit actual malice, as they prioritized profit over facts, ignoring publicly available court records and other credible evidence.”

Brown’s complaint alleges that he “suffered harm to his reputation and profession as an entertainer, had to pay attorneys’ fees and costs, [and] suffered emotional distress,” stemming from the documentary’s claims.” It continued, “Defendants acted for the purpose of causing [Brown] to suffer severe emotional distress and are guilty of malice, oppression and fraud.”

While the lawsuit alludes to Brown’s “past mistakes,” it points out that Brown has never been found guilty of any sex-related crime. While this is true, Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault in 2009 after he attacked his then-girlfriend Rihanna. Since then, he has been involved in numerous incidents, which have led to multiple arrests, lawsuits and restraining orders.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Investigation Discovery (owned by Warner Bros. Discovery) reported, “We stand behind the production and will vigorously defend ourselves against this lawsuit.