‘Game Of Thrones’ Actor Joseph Gatt Files $40 Million Lawsuit Against Los Angeles D.A. Over False Pedophilia Allegations

British actor Joseph Gatt, 52, known for his roles in Game of Thrones and Thor, has filed a $40 million lawsuit against Los Angeles County, its district attorney, an LAPD detective and others for false accusations that he was a pedophile.

In 2022, Gatt was arrested and charged with alleged sexual communication with a minor. However, the charges were later dropped, and Gatt vehemently denied the accusations and described them as “utterly baseless.”

The lawsuit alleges that Gatt’s arrest was the result of the actions of an “obsessed” 16-year-old fan. Gatt asserts that he had no knowledge of the teenager and had never met her. In October 2020, a friend of the fan purchased a Cameo video message from Gatt, in which he wished her a happy birthday. Following this, the fan repeatedly messaged Gatt over social media, and he responded in a manner that was “wholly appropriate and consistent with typical celebrity-fan exchanges.”

According to the lawsuit, the fan fabricated messages from Gatt that were “sexual in nature and pure fantasy.” They also included a naked image of Gatt, taken from his appearance as the character Albino in the television series Banshee.

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants failed to interview the fan until a year after Gatt’s arrest, in which which time he had been charged with and publicly labeled a serial pedophile.

The legal action further claims that these events represent a “shocking and intentional destruction” of Gatt’s acting career and personal reputation, the result of a severely mishandled criminal investigation led by Deputy DA Angela Brunson, who allegedly harbored personal biases and animosity towards Gatt.

Dean Z. Pamphilis, who represented Gatt, issued a statement on behalf of his client, stating, “The arrest and charges against Mr. Gatt—for which he was branded by the Los Angeles DA and LAPD as a serial pedophile—were based on fabricated evidence. Twenty months later, when the fabricated evidence was finally disclosed to Mr. Gatt and Mr. Gatt’s forensic experts were prepared to expose the truth in open court, the Los Angeles DA voluntarily dismissed the criminal complaint.”

The statement emphasized that Gatt had already suffered significant losses, such as damage to his community standing, acting career and personal reputation, and expressed the intention to seek compensation for these losses through the legal process.