Jared Leto is suing the celebrity gossip site TMZ for posting a video in which he insulted singer Taylor Swift.
As we reported earlier this week, TMZ posted a video in which Leto critiqued the hits on Swift’s 1989 album. “F–k her. I don’t give a f–k about her,” he says at the end. “It’s whatever works best for us.”
The Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman and Oscar-winning actor then apologized on Twitter. “The truth is I think @taylorswift13 is amazing + an incredible example of what's possible. If I hurt her or her fans my sincerest apologies,” he wrote.
However, that’s not where this story ends. The Hollywood Reporter reported that Leto’s Sisyphus Touring company filed a copyright lawsuit against TMZ and its parent company, Warner Bros. Entertainment, claiming that TMZ knew the video was stolen and published it anyway.
The suit says that the video was made back on Sept. 8 by a videographer he hired. The videographer was offered $2,000 for the video. TMZ wanted him to sign a document to prove that he had the legal right to sell the footage, but the videographer refused to. Before the video was posted, TMZ was told that they did not have the rights to publish the footage and it was stolen.
Leto claims that the videographer told TMZ not to publish the footage and he didn’t have the right to give them permission to do so. However, the video was already published at that time.
“I have chosen to file this lawsuit not because I want to, but in hopes it will encourage more people to stop trafficking in stolen goods, to follow proper legal procedure and so that it may motivate additional consideration for the harm these acts can create, especially when the only intention is to simply further the bottom line for the companies and corporations that commit these acts,” Leto wrote in a statement to THR.
Despite the lawsuit, TMZ still has the video online.