An actress who appeared in the anti-Muslim film that has sparked protests around the world is suing the film’s creator for fraud, slander and invasion of privacy.
Cindy Lee Garcia says she was cast in the movie in July 2011 after responding to a casting call for a film titled “Desert Warrior.” According to Garcia’s lawsuit, filmmaker Nakoula Basseley Nakoula (who also goes by the alias Sam Bacile) described the project as a “historical Arabian Desert adventure film” and never mentioned religion or the Muslim prophet Muhammed during filming.
When the film’s 14-minute trailer was posted on YouTube, however, Nakoula had allegedly redubbed much of it with anti-Islamic dialogue that depicts Muhammed as a womanizer and child molester. The trailer ignited violent anti-American demonstrations in Egypt, Yemen and Libya, where protesters killed four U.S. diplomats, including American ambassador Christopher Stevens.
Garcia’s lawsuit says that she has suffered “severe emotional distress, the destruction of her career and reputation, the loss of her family and her livelihood and other financial and non-pecuniary damage” since the film’s release. She is seeking unspecified damages. Garcia also had asked for an injunction that would remove the film’s trailer from Google Inc.-owned YouTube, but a judge denied her request Thursday.
Read more at the Wall Street Journal.
For more InsideCounsel coverage of film-related lawsuits, see:
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