Did John Legend sue Karoline Leavitt for defamation? Truth behind viral claim
A story circulating on social media has claimed that John Legend sued Karoline Leavitt after the White House Press Secretary verbally attacked the singer during a live television appearance. Among few websites to publish the story was sport.feji.io, which headlined it, “”YOU WERE BEATEN — PAY NOW!” — John Legend sues Karoline Leavitt and Network for $50 MILLION after shocking live attack. No one saw it coming.”
Did John Legend sue Karoline Leavitt for defamation? Truth behind viral claim (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
The article claims that the segment was meant to highlight Legend’s “latest philanthropic initiative,” but instead, Leavitt “seized the opportunity to attack” him. The article accuses Leavitt of calling Legend a “hypocrite” and a “symbol of a broken system” that uses “celebrity influence to push empty promises while ignoring the real struggles of everyday Americans.”
The article also claims that Legend responded saying his mission is “to inspire,” and while “criticism is part of public life,” he condemns personal attacks.
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According to the article, Legend’s legal team subsequently filed a $50 million lawsuit “in Los Angeles Superior Court accusing Leavitt of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and reputational harm.” The story quoted that lawsuit as saying, “It was a calculated malicious ambush intended on damage” Legend, and that the network’s decision to allow “such behavior makes it equally responsible.” The network, however, was not specified.
The website also quoted celebrities like Alicia Keys, Chance the Rapper and Lin-Manuel Miranda as sharing statements in support of Legend.
Did John Legend sue Karoline Leavitt?
The claims that have surfaced on social media are false. There are no credible reports from major news outlets, legal sources, or the parties involved, confirming that such an incident took place or that a lawsuit was filed in retaliation. A Facebook user noted that the story was also published by a “satirical or fake news website” called tenderpath.net that “creates fabricated stories about celebrities.” The user noted how the story includes “dramatic, unsubstantiated details,” which is true in the case of the story published by sport.feji.io too.
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The sport.feji.io article uses dramatic sentences to report the fake story, saying that after Leavitt’s remarks about Legend, “audience members exchanged shocked looks as cameras captured the confrontation.” No such video is available on the Internet despite the website’s claims that it was a live event that was televised. Further, neither Keys nor the other celebrities mentioned in the story commented on such an incident.
In fact, the same news has been circulating with names of different individuals. Some posts have claimed that Coco Gauff was suing Leavitt for $50 million. A website, news.clubofsocial.com, published the story with the headline, ‘“GOT A FIGHT — PAY NOW!” — Coco Gauff sues Karoline Leavitt and Network for $50 MILLION after sh0cking live-action att@ck. And Karoline Leavitt’s next reaction was unexpected…”
A Facebook user pointed out how such fake news stories are being circulated at a time when “our country is deeply divided, and there are individuals, groups, and foreign entities attempting to exacerbate this divide by spreading false information.” “I am sharing this to remind everyone that not everything on Facebook is accurate,” the user added.
