Fake network voids choice-of-law deal, Roy Moore says in defamation suit against Sacha Baron Cohen
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Former Alabama Chief Justice and failed Senate candidate Roy Moore claims his $95 million defamation suit against Sacha Baron Cohen doesn’t have to be tried in New York because of misrepresentations made when he signed a contract before his appearance on the comedian’s show.
The contract said Moore agrees not to sue for defamation, infliction of emotional distress, fraud, deceptive practices or any other claim. But if he does, the suit must be brought in New York. Moore said the contract is void because he was falsely told he was being flown to Washington, D.C., for an award, and he would be interviewed by Yerushalayim TV, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
In reality, Moore was being interviewed for Cohen’s program on Showtime so he could falsely be portrayed as a pedophile, Moore said. Moore lost his bid for the U.S. Senate after four women said he had pursued inappropriate relationships with them when they were teenagers and he was in his early 30s.
Moore made his argument in a memorandum opposing a transfer of venue from Washington, D.C., to New York.
Cohen’s program, Who Is America?, features Cohen appearing in disguise while interviewing public figures. On the program, Cohen pointed a fake device at Moore said to have been invented by the Israeli Army to detect pedophiles, Moore said in his complaint. The Hollywood Reporter’s story outlining Moore’s defamation allegations is here.
In Moore’s latest court filing, his lawyer, Larry Klayman, said Moore and his wife, Kayla, “are truly victims in defendant’s sordid scheme for ratings and profit.”
The agreement states that Moore agrees to the provisions in exchange for the television appearance and a $200 donation to a charity of Moore’s choice. Moore chose the Foundation for Moral Law, the Hollywood Reporter reported in a previous story.
