Hunter Biden is suing Fox News Network and the Fox Corporation over The Trial of Hunter Biden, a miniseries inspired by Biden’s legal troubles that is said to feature sexually explicit images and videos of the president’s son.
In the suit filed Sunday in New York state court, attorneys for Hunter Biden accuse Fox of “an effort to harass, annoy, alarm, and humiliate him, and tarnish his reputation” as part of “politically motivated attacks against the president and his family.” It also alleges “unlawful commercial exploitation of Mr. Biden’s image, name, and likeness.”
The Trial of Hunter Biden is described by Fox as a series that seeks to show “how a possible Hunter Biden trial might look.” The series, which streamed on the Fox Nation subscription service, included several sexually graphic images and videos of Hunter Biden that his attorneys claim were unlawfully disseminated without his consent. The suit claims that the dissemination of the images caused Biden “severe emotional distress, humiliation, and mental anguish” and irreparably harmed his reputation.
After legal threats from Biden’s attorneys, Fox removed The Trial of Hunter Biden from its subscription service in April, according to the lawsuit. But Biden’s attorneys claim that the series is still available via third-party streaming platforms, and the filing includes a link to a promotional reel that remains accessible on Fox Nation’s Facebook account.
Biden is not suing for defamation, but rather for violations of New York state’s civil rights law, which restricts the nonconsensual disclosure of sexually explicit images and videos, i.e. “revenge porn.” The complaint requests a jury trial and seeks compensatory and punitive damages. It also demands that Fox remove and permanently destroy “any intimate image of Mr. Biden in their possession, custody, or control,” and requests the disgorgement of any profits from the miniseries.
Biden is represented by law firm Geragos & Geragos—headed by principal attorney Mark Geragos, who has represented Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, Winona Ryder, and former president Bill Clinton’s half-brother Roger Clinton.
Last month, Hunter Biden was found guilty on three felony firearms-related charges. Biden also faces a separate trial related to federal tax charges in September.
In a statement in response to the lawsuit, Fox News spokesperson said, “This entirely politically motivated lawsuit is devoid of merit. The core complaint stems from a 2022 streaming program that Mr. Biden did not complain about until sending a letter in late April 2024. The program was removed within days of the letter, in an abundance of caution, but Hunter Biden is a public figure who has been the subject of multiple investigations and is now a convicted felon. Consistent with the First Amendment, Fox News has accurately covered the newsworthy events of Mr. Biden’s own making, and we look forward to vindicating our rights in court.”
More Great Stories From Vanity Fair
Everything You Missed at the First Presidential Debate
Palace Insiders on the Monarchy’s Difficult Year
Inside the Titan Sub Recovery: A Hopeful Rescue Turned Tragic Mission
I Taught the Taylor Swift Class at Harvard. Here’s My Thesis
The Best Movies of 2024, So Far
Why You Can’t Look Away From the Karen Read Trial
Putin Is Banking On a Trump Win for His New World Order
What Is Cinema? Filmmaking Masters Share Their Secrets
The post Hunter Biden Is Suing Fox News Over ‘The Trial of Hunter Biden’ Miniseries appeared first on Vanity Fair.
