Fox News Writer Sues Former Employer
Roger Friedman may have lost his credentials at Fox News, but that isn't preventing him from getting his just desserts--in the Supreme Court of New York.
According to Daily Variety, Friedman has filed suit against the network and its parent company, News Corp, alleging that Fox News violated his contract by firing him following a review Friedman wrote of a pirated version of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" in April. It is part of an alleged pattern of "willful, reckless, intentional and malicious" defaming of him, Friedman claims in the suit.
According to the filing, obtained by Gawker Media, Friedman claims he contacted an attorney attached to the network, Dianne Brandi, to get the review cleared but didn't receive a response from her. The suit goes on to allege that Friedman's editor, Jonathon Passantino, signed off on the review, saying to Friedman in an email, "Good stuff, thanks."
That was April 3. As news of the review of the pirated copy circulated the Internet, Fox News released a press release 24 hours later, saying that the company "has zero tolerance for any action that promotes and encourages piracy." Friedman was fired that same day.
The suit enumerates that Friedman followed protocol in approaching Passantino and several others about the supposed breach. Friedman also claims that an unknown blogger spread a series of rumors about him on the Internet, related somehow to Scientology. At no point does Friedman say he downloaded the pirated "X-Men" film.
However, throughout the 12-page complaint, neither Friedman nor his lawyer, Martin Garbus, provide any concrete evidence to suggest that Friedman was fired as a result of a Scientology-based conspiracy--a claim he has made to the New York Daily News--nor do they provide any lines of discovery from the actual contract Friedman signed with Fox News in 1999 to suggest they violated the terms of the agreement.
Incidentally, Fox News denies receiving a copy of the suit.
The $5 million price tag covers all of the $250,000 salary Friedman earned during his tenure at Fox News, in addition to legal fees.
As for Friedman himself, he has rebounded from being axed, blogging for entertainment site the Hollywood Reporter under its Showbiz 411 mantle.
No word on when the suit will get underway formally.