Photo Credit: Chris Brown by Pelpa Time Production / CC by 3.0
Chris Brown’s claims against documentary producers were dismissed, but the same judge has allowed his claims against an interview subject to continue.
Despite Chris Brown’s defamation claims against the producers of the documentary Chris Brown: A History of Violence getting tossed, the same judge has declined to throw out his defamation claims against a woman interviewed for the film. Chantel Daisia Frank alleged that the R&B singer raped her on a yacht owned by Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Brown filed a $500 million defamation suit last year over the film, which outlined numerous domestic and sexual abuse allegations against the singer. But a Los Angeles judge threw out claims against the documentary’s producers at Investigation Discovery in January, ruling that they presented a balanced narrative and complied with journalistic standards.
However, that same judge has declined to throw out claims against interview subject Frank, who alleged in the film that Brown raped her on a yacht docked outside Diddy’s home in Miami in 2020. Brown continues to deny these claims.
Frank’s attorneys tried to have the libel claims against her dismissed under California’s anti-SLAPP statute. But Judge Colin Leis pointed out that her rape claims had been investigated previously by the Miami-Dade Police Department and found not to be credible. This is primarily due to the fact that she withheld relevant text messages from investigators. As a result, the judge determined that it was a valid case to go to trial.
“The court cannot dismiss that a jury might believe [Brown’s] denials over Frank’s accusation that [Brown] forced non-consensual sex upon Frank—a factual question of credibility properly resolved by a jury,” wrote Judge Leis. “[Brown] has established some minimal merit to his defamation cause of action sufficient for the lawsuit to proceed to its next stage.”
The case will now move into the discovery phase, and may go to trial unless a settlement is reached in the meantime. Representatives for Frank and Brown did not immediately return media requests for comment.
