Chris Brown’s Defamation Lawsuit Thrown Out

Chris Brown has had his lawsuit over Chris Brown: A History of Violence thrown out. A judge has ruled that Investigation Discovery complied with journalistic standards in its 2024 documentary, which chronicled domestic and sexual abuse allegations against the R&B star. The court order dismissed Brown’s $500 million (£370 million) suit against Warner Bros Discovery and Ample Entertainment, the production company behind the show, Billboard reports. Brown sued almost exactly a year ago, claiming the documentary was “full of lies and deception”.

The lawsuit’s primary issue was with the documentary’s spotlight on a woman who alleged the singer raped her on a yacht owned by Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in 2020. Brown insists these claims are false and disproven by inconsistencies in the woman’s account, as well as her own violent past and the fact that she concealed key text messages after reporting the incident to Miami police. But in Monday’s order, Judge Colin Leis ruled that Investigation Discovery presented both perspectives in a balanced manner.

“The court has personally viewed the entire documentary. The documentary recites most of the inconsistencies plaintiff notes, including the existence of the text messages,” writes the judge. “Media defendants thus presented a ‘fair and true’ report of statements and the judicial record and proceedings.” Judge Leis also decreed there was no merit to Brown’s claim that the network defamed him by including an interview in which culture writer Scaachi Koul said the singer had a “predisposition for punching women in the face.” As the judge pointed out, Brown “has admitted to punching the singer Rihanna”.