On January 28, 2025, recording artist Chris Brown filed a lawsuit in California state court alleging that a Warner Bros. documentary, entitled A History of Violence, defamed him. Brown sued Warner for libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The subject Investigation Discovery documentary (which is streaming on Max) contains many claims about Brown and depicts him as violent, including claims of sexual violence. It also mentions that Brown has not been blacklisted by the entertainment industry. In fact, he won his second Grammy award on February 2, 2025.
An important part of the documentary concerns the allegations of a “Jane Doe” which are offered as evidence against Brown. Jane Doe sued Brown in 2022 claiming sexual assault and battery, for allegedly raping her on Sean “Diddy” Combs' yacht. That lawsuit has been dismissed, “without prejudice,” which means it can be refiled. Brown claims in his lawsuit that the Jane Doe allegations “had not only been discredited over and over, but was, in fact, a perpetrator of intimate partner violence and aggressor herself.”
Brown denies the allegations in the complaint and, it should be noted, has never been convicted of any sex related charges (he was arrested for assaulting Rihanna in 2009, and he pleaded guilty).
The lawsuit states: “To put it simply, this case is about the media putting their own profits over the truth… Since the beginning of October of 2024, Ample LLC and Warner Bros. were put on notice that they were promoting and publishing false information in their pursuit of likes, clicks, downloads and dollars to the detriment of Chris Brown. Ultimately, on October 27, 2024, they aired Chris Brown: A History of Violence (the “Documentary”), knowing that it was full of lies and deception and violating basic journalistic principles.”
The lawsuit admits that Brown has made mistakes in the past, which were publicly acknowledged and addressed by him in his 2017 documentary, Chris Brown, Welcome to My Life and that he has “grown from those experiences, and his evolution speaks for itself.” The fact that he admits he has made mistakes and has grown from them appears to be irrelevant to this lawsuit.
Investigation Discovery released a statement: “We stand behind the production and will vigorously defend ourselves against this lawsuit.”
Brown’s representatives state that he has apologized for his actions and is rehabilitated. But that is not a valid defense.
Brown has stated that a portion of any recovery will be donated to survivors of sexual abuse.
The elements of a libel (a type of defamation) claim in California are a publication that is false, defamatory, and unprivileged and has a natural tendency to injure or that causes special damages. California Civil Code Sections 45. 46.
I think the biggest issue in this case will be whether or not the statements in the documentary are true or not.
GLENN LITWAK is a veteran entertainment attorney based in Santa Monica, CA. He has represented platinum selling recording artists, Grammy winning music producers, hit songwriters, management and production companies, music publishers and independent record labels. Glenn is also a frequent speaker at music industry conferences around the country, such as South by Southwest and the Billboard Music in Film and TV Conference. Email Litwak at gtllaw59@gmail.com or visit glennlitwak.com.
