American singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer, Phoebe Bridgers was sued last september for defamation by a producer named Chris Nelson. Nelson, who owns a recording studio called Sound Space in Los Angeles, claimed that Bridgers used her public platform on Instagram to publish false and defamatory statements about Nelson “in order to destroy his reputation,” as the complaint read. Now, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge has dismissed the lawsuit, MyNewsLA reports and Pitchfork can confirm.
Judge Curtis A. Kin granted Bridgers’ anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) motion, which she originally filed in February. California’s anti-SLAPP statute is meant to prevent people from using courts and potential lawsuits to intimidate those exercising their right to free-speech, according to Pitchfork.
“We feel vindicated that the Court recognized this lawsuit as frivolous and without merit,” a spokesperson for Phoebe Bridgers wrote in a statement to Pitchfork. “It was not grounded in law, or facts, but was filed with the sole intention of causing harm to our client’s reputation and career. This victory is important not just for our client but for all those she was seeking to protect by using her platform.”
In the original lawsuit (obtained by Pitchfork), Nelson stated that, “in or around 2018, [he] and his girlfriend at the time… began having consensual sexual encounters with [Phoebe] Bridgers.” Nelson and his girlfriend broke up “in or around the fall of 2019,” according to the lawsuit, but Nelson says that Bridgers and the woman “continued their relationship.” A year later, Bridgers made “false and misleading statements about [Nelson],” according to the complaint.
Nelson sought $3.8 million in damages for alleged defamation, false light, intentional infliction of emotional distress, intentional interference with prospective economic relations, and negligent interference with prospective economic relations.
According to Vulture, Nelson sued Bridgers over an October 2020 Instagram Story, in which Bridgers posted about claims made on Instagram by Emily Bannon, a voice actor. Bannon made a range of allegations against Nelson, the owner of the Los Angeles studio Sound Space, including that he harassed and abused women and engaged in hate-crime violence. Bridgers posted in response that she could “personally verify much of the abuse” Bannon attested to. Nelson claimed that he previously dated Bannon, that they later became involved with Bridgers, and that when he and Bannon broke up, she continued to date Bridgers. Nelson previously filed a lawsuit against Bannon in December 2020.
In her declaration, Bridgers said while she did not help write Bannon’s posts, she believes them. “I believe that the statements I made in my Instagram story are true,” Bridgers said in the filing. “My statements were made based on my personal knowledge, including statements I personally heard Mr. Nelson make, as well as my own observations. I continue to believe the statements that I made were true.”
Nelson brought a similar lawsuit against Noël Wells, the former Saturday Night Live cast member and singer-songwriter. Wells allegedly warned the band Big Thief about working with Nelson in a private email, claiming the producer had made “an incredibly predatory move” in their collaborations, per Rolling Stone. A judge dismissed Nelson’s lawsuit against Wells in January, ruling that Wells’s speech fell under her First Amendment rights “in the advancement or assistance of the creation of music.”
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEq6CcoJWowW%2BvzqZmq6GTnXqxu9aeqZ%2BtnGS9qbvEm5xmmqKesaix0axksKGeqHqis8CipaysXZmyp63Mmquip55iuaLD0q6grWWTlsCmeceaqmaalZq7bq3Lq5yanKlisaq%2FzKKqrJ2UZA%3D%3D