Brüno Lawyer: Woman's Lawsuit Is "Ludicrously False"
Sacha Baron Cohen
A lawyer for Sacha Baron Cohen's Brüno responded to a woman's lawsuit over the forthcoming film, calling it a "demonstrably and ludicrously false complaint" and urging her lawyers to drop the case.
Richelle Olson filed a suit against the movie's star and studio last week claiming that she was injured at a charity bingo tournament in a skirmish with Cohen and his film crew. Her suit says that she needs a wheelchair and a cane for mobility and seeks unspecified damages of more than $25,000.
On Friday, Brüno lawyer Russell Smith shot back with a four-page letter addressed to Olson's attorneys, in which he threatened further legal action if they did not voluntarily dismiss the suit, according The Hollywood Reporter (which obtained a copy of the document).
Smith also rebutted several of Olson's claims, such as her assertion that Cohen assaulted her and that his film crew attacked her. "Putting aside the impossibility of camera crew physically attacking Ms. Olson while at the same time filming her, the actual footage reveals that the number of crew members and other persons who attacked your client is zero," he wrote.
Finally, Smith said that Olson signed a release form before filming — an act she claims was done "under duress." Several previous lawsuits against Cohen over his last film, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, were dismissed when it was revealed that plaintiffs had signed release forms.
TVGuide.com's call to Olson's lawyers was not immediately returned.
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