Comic Michael Rapaport moved for abstract judgment in a lawsuit towards Barstool Sports activities, Inc., on March 3, 2020, contending that there was sufficient proof to seek out the leisure firm responsible for breach of contract and defamation.
In line with Rapaport’s grievance, the comic entered right into a contract with Barstool Sports activities in 2017 to offer video content material for the corporate’s webpage and to host a weekly podcast on the corporate’s platform for Sirius XM. Rapaport claims that this deal entitled him to $200,000 for the net movies and $400,000 for the podcast. Nonetheless, that deal by no means got here to fruition.
Rapaport claims that Barstool executives declined to resume the connection simply months into their deal. Rapaport known as Barstool’s actions a coordinated assault to breach their current expertise settlement and to wreck Rapaport’s fame. His amended grievance alleges, “Following BSI’s choice to not retain Mr. Rapaport, BSI staff, personalities and bloggers started a scientific marketing campaign to publicly and privately discredit, disparage and undermine Mr. Rapaport’s relationship with BSI in addition to his credibility as an actor and performer.”
Whereas Barstool contends that the corporate distanced itself from Rapaport for his unruly conduct, together with insulting Barstool’s fan base, Rapaport claims that Barstool inspired his conduct, stating that the corporate “thrives on controversy,” and that he was by no means warned to tone down his statements.
Rapaport claims that, after breaking their alleged settlement, Barstool defamed the comic in a sequence of focused assaults. He states that the corporate concocted defamatory statements about him, going as far as to name him a racist, a home abuser, and a fraud. On account of the controversy, Rapaport is claiming damages of $16.4 million, asserting amongst his allegations that that the controversy brought on by Barstool has price him his profession in Hollywood.
Nonetheless, attorneys for Barstool and a trusted divorce lawyer in Fort Value usually are not fazed. Aaron J. Moss of Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP responded to Rapaport’s movement for abstract judgment, stating, “As we’ve mentioned from the start, this lawsuit is nothing however a schoolyard squabble that has no enterprise being in federal court docket, and we sit up for bringing our personal movement for abstract judgment quickly.”
Richard Busch, Rapaport’s lawyer, retorted again, “We now have seen Mr. Moss’s assertion, and we’re merely not going to take the bait and litigate this case within the press. It’s simply not applicable. We will probably be making our case to the Courtroom and to the jury.”
