Robert Downey Jr. is being sued over his investigative podcast series, by a man who claims the actor “abused” him by using content from his book without permission.
According to legal documents, obtained by The Blast, Paul Morantz filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Court against the ‘Ironman’ star for copyright infringement, breach of contract and “elder abuse.” Morantz is reportedly a lawyer and investigative journalist known for taking on legal cases alleging brainwashing by cults. He is considered an expert in the subject.
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In the filing, Morantz said he wrote a book about a drug rehabilitation institution — Synanon — that began as a program to rehabilitate drug addicts, but famously declared itself a religion and “centered on a middle-class search for utopia rather than curing addicts. .” In the 1970s Morantz reportedly warned the government and authorities about Synanon’s founder — Charles Dederich — saying it was a dangerous cult.
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Man Claims Robert Downey Jr Is Capturing His Life Story For New Podcast Series
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Shockingly, Morantz claimed that the group’s followers tried to kill him after he was bitten by a cobra that had been placed in the mailbox of his Pacific Palisades home. Three weeks earlier, as a lawyer, Morantz had won a $300,000 judgment against Synanon on behalf of a married couple who claimed the wife had been held captive by the cult to brainwash her into the group.
Now, Morantz says Robert Downey Jr. and his production company is making a podcast series — The Sunshine Place — based on his life, using his book, but without dealing with him.
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In 2021, the 77-year-old claimed he was “contacted by one of Downey’s employees about his book, “Synanon: From Miracle To Madness.” He claimed the person “asked for a digital copy so he could use it. as an investigative tool and he has been allocated under the agreement, they will not proceed unless an agreement is reached.” The publisher was also “given Synanon documents that he cannot use if an agreement is not made for the rights to his book and documents.”
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Cult Fighter’s Lawyer Sues Robert Downey For ‘Elderly Abuse’
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According to the suit, Morantz claims the Downeys had access to his second book, titled “Synanon: Escape: My Lifelong War Against Cults.”
At the time, he said negotiations had begun for the rights, but the offer made was “rejected.” So, a tentative deal was made with someone else, but it’s now in jeopardy because of Downey’s announcement about his series.
As for elder abuse, Paul said he was 77 and “very sick.” The lawsuit claims, “Financial abuse of a person of this age and condition qualifies as elder abuse which entitles (her) to damages for emotional distress in an amount that can be proven in court.”
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Robert Downey Jr. reportedly executive produced the series, titled ‘The Sunshine Place’– an investigative podcast series about Synanon. The series purports to tell the story of “Synanon — and its messianic founder Charles E. Dederich — through the memories of members, survivors and dedicated chroniclers. The series is narrated by Sari Crawford, daughter of former Synanon leader Bill Crawford .
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“Even though we’re familiar with Synanon, we can’t appreciate his deeply personal story until we can appreciate his epic rise and fall,” said Robert Downey Jr. in a statement about the series. Adding, “We feel this is a strangely relevant and twisted cautionary tale that needs to be told about the incredible lengths people will go to find answers and the more dangerous ones others will go to.”
It is unclear how much, if any, Morantzs information or books were used in the creation of the Downey project.
So far, he has not commented on the suit.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
