*Tyrese Gibson is facing a $10 million lawsuit filed by a director accusing the movie star of defamation.
Bryan Barber, the CEO and founder of video streaming platform Pivot Originals, claims Gibson made slanderous statements about him during a September 7 appearance on The Breakfast Club.
As The Blast reports, Barber is taking legal action after Gibson attacked his “character and reputation” during the episode by stating, “Barber took Gibson’s [interview] footage and refused to give it back; Gibson paid [Barber] $35,000.00 total to film the interview footage; and Barber also stole footage from two other public figures – Big Boi and Dallas Austin.”
According to Barber, Gibson hired his company in 2019 to shoot and edit an interview of him with Charlamagne Tha God. The interview would be filmed over a day, and both parties “would split (on a 50/50 basis) the revenue derived from the streaming and/or other distribution,” per the legal docs, The Blast reports.
Gibson requested a second day of shooting to capture “‘B-Roll’ footage of Gibson spending time with his wife and their newborn daughter.”
Here’s more from The Blast:
As for Gibson’s claim about Barber refusing to release the interview footage, the music video director claimed the actor’s management specifically instructed him not to release any portion of the interview to protect the reputation of the “Fast 9” star.
“Gibson refused to adhere to the previous 50/50 revenue split that he and Barber previously negotiated for the CTG Interview,” the document reads.
Tyrese proceeded to mention the situation on an appearance on ‘The Breakfast Club’ claiming Barker was holding the footage hostage. In the interview, Gibson claims he spent $35,000 on it, and Barker will not release it.
Barber is now seeking $10 million in damages, claiming Gibson’s statements were defamatory. Per The Blast, the legal docs note that “the success of Pivot Originals hinges largely on establishing and maintaining trust with original content creators.”
Gibson’s comments about Barber can be heard in the YouTube video below around the 42 min. mark.
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