Francis Ford Coppola is suing Diversity for defamation after a Hollywood trade paper published a story alleging the director’s inappropriate behavior towards extras on the set of his upcoming film Megalopolis.
The lawsuit, which was filed in California Superior Court in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Sept. 11 and reviewed by PEOPLE, names Diversity and executive editors Tatiana Siegel and Brent Lang. Siegel and Lang appear in the byline for the article, which was originally published on July 26, 2024 and remains active on Diversity website.
Coppola (85) claims this in the lawsuit Diversity knew that the allegations against him were “false” and were made to “damage Coppola’s reputation and cause him serious emotional distress.” It further says “damage has been caused” and is seeking no less than $15 million in damages and a jury trial.
The Coppola Family: All about the film dynasty including Sofia Coppola and Nicolas Cage
On Wednesday night, a rep for Coppola issued the following statement on behalf of the director to PEOPLE.
“Nothing in my 60+ year career can match the painstakingly difficult but artistically triumphant journey of bringing Megalopolis to the screen. It was a collaboration of hundreds of artists, from extras to box-office stars, for whom I have consistently expressed the greatest respect and my deepest gratitude,” the statement read.
“To see our collective efforts tainted by false, reckless and irresponsible reporting is devastating. No publication, especially a legacy industry, should be allowed to use undercover videos and unnamed sources for their own financial gain,” it continued. “While I have no intention of discussing this in the media, I will vigorously defend my reputation and trust the courts to hold them accountable.”
Representatives for Variety and its parent company PMC did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The ‘Variety’ office in Los Angeles in a photo taken in February 2021.
AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
The Diversity the July story at the center of Coppola’s complaint cited anonymous sources who claimed the director tried to kiss extras in a nightclub scene who were “topless” or “scantily clad.” The source also allegedly claimed at one point after multiple takes, Coppola grabbed the microphone and said out loud, “Excuse me if I walk up to you and kiss you. Just know it’s purely for my pleasure.”
The suit also complains of Diversity the article includes video purportedly from the scene in question, where Coppola appears to be kissing and dancing with extras during filming in a nightclub. Siegel and Lang wrote that the video corroborates claims that Coppola tried to kiss extras that originally surfaced in the article The Guardian May 14.
Background actress Rayna Menz, who appears in the video, denied the allegations against Coppola in a message on Instagram. Menz said Diversitysister publication Deadline that the director “was just a professional, a gentleman, he was like that nice Italian grandfather who ran around the set.”
In court filings, Coppola’s attorneys argued that before filing the lawsuit, he “provided evidence Diversity that the above allegations are false and Coppola has requested that the allegations be dropped. Diversity refused and doubled. She repeated the same accusations and thus emphasized the malice towards Coppola. In order to clear his name and get a public decision on his falsehood Diversityallegations, Coppola brought this case.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2)/Megalopolis-cast-tiff-091124-10c40d81fde3437d97625ed969544ad6.jpg)
‘Megalopolis’ star Adam Driver, director Francis Ford Coppola, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito and DB Sweeney at the Toronto Film Festival on September 9, 2024.
Robert Okine/Getty
Never miss a story — subscribe to PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Megalopolis is a sci-fi epic starring Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito and DB Sweeney. The film premiered on September 9 at the Toronto International Film Festival with Coppola and the stars in attendance.
The film is slated to release on September 27.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education