Woman who appeared ‘visibly intoxicated’ in Kanye West’s music video cannot sue for defamation after the footage was used in a Netflix documentary focused on Kanye Gene UEven though she later sobered up and “turned her life around,” the federal judge said.
Cynthia Love complained last year: Gene U Filmmakers Coody Simmons and Chike Oza denigrated her by including the footage in their 2022 Netflix series. The clip, which shows Love dancing and slurring her speech at a Chicago barbecue, was originally filmed for Kanye West’s 2003 music video for his debut single “Through the Wire.” Thing.
Love’s discussion was unusual. She acknowledged that the footage was real — something that would normally signal the end of a defamation lawsuit. But since she has since quit drinking, she argued that using the word in modern times has become false and defamatory.
In his judgment on Tuesday (February 27), the judge said: steven seeger sharply denied that claim, ruling that the footage was “historically accurate” and showed “the truth of the past,” even if it was a truth Love didn’t want to remember.
“Holding up a mirror is not defamation. Holding up a photo from 20 years ago is not defamation either,” the judge said. “Whether we like it or not, they both reflect reality.”
The judge wrote that it didn’t matter that Love had since “turned things around” or that the Netflix doc depicted her “darkest moments” from several years ago. “The ‘Gene U’ video is an accurate depiction of love in a moment” decades ago. This video does not suggest that Love is intoxicated or anything. ”
Directed by Coody & Chike (nickname used by the filmmakers) Gene U The film depicts West’s career through never-before-seen archival footage, much of which Coody shot in collaboration with West over several decades. After coming to Netflix for a reported $30 million, the series was released in February 2022, just months before West came under widespread condemnation for a series of anti-Semitic comments.
A few years earlier, Love had appeared briefly in the “Through the Wire” video directed by Coody & Chike, one of their first projects. The video showed Love dancing drunk at Chicago’s Eater Original Leon’s Bar-B-Q. In addition to that footage, additional unused footage showing her interacting with West was later released. Gene Uthe two episodes together make up about two minutes of footage.
Love sued Coody & Chike and Netflix last year for defamation and a wide range of other misconduct. (West was not named or accused of wrongdoing). She “recklessly ignores” her truth that she has undergone an “astounding transformation” since her ugly footage was filmed, and has criticized her current status among her colleagues. He claimed it had damaged his reputation. She is a person not worthy of respect, appreciation, or trust,” her attorney wrote.
But in Tuesday’s order dismissing those claims, Judge Seeger astutely noted that “sometimes the truth hurts, but when the truth hurts, it’s not defamation.” She summarized her argument by saying, “The footage was true then, but it’s not true now,” and the judge told her that’s not how libel law works.
“Plain and simple, every allegation about love in the ‘JeanUse’ documentary series is true,” the judge wrote. “This documentary series contains clips of real-world love without retouching the content or adding false material. True clips of real events are shown.”
Lawyers for both sides did not respond to requests for comment.
