Jesse Ventura And The Defamation Lawsuits’ Aftermath
Jesse Ventura has won his defamation lawsuit against Taya Kyle, wife of slain former Army Sniper Chris Kyle, collecting $1.8 million. He has perhaps gotten more than even he thought.
The lawsuit centers around a portion of Chris Kyle’s book, American Sniper, in which Kyle writes he had an altercation with a then-unknown celebrity. The celebrity was later identified as Ventura. Ventura filed the lawsuit because he felt his character had been defamed. Complications arose during the trial, most notably the death of Chris Kyle, having been shot at a Texas firing range. Ventura continued with his litigation, which he of course won. Ventura’s award was the $1.8 million, but the offending section will be removed from future printings of the book, according to the Washington Post.
Ventura is being railed by current and former military persons who feel Ventura should have not filed the lawsuit in the first place. The biggest reason for their acrimony is that Ventura is former Navy BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL), and the prevailing sentiment is Ventura should have left this alone, according to SOFREP. Ventura, however, felt that his brand would be damaged by this entry that legal action would be necessary.
There are those who are saying that Ventura should feel bad that he is taking money away from Chris Kyle’s wife Taya and their two kids. Ventura doesn’t think so. “Taya Kyle had all of her attorney fees paid by insurance. I did not. I incurred two-and-a-half years of lawyer fees that I have to pay to clear my name, and she had insurance paying everything for her,” Ventura said on “CBS This Morning.” “It was me against an insurance company.”
Ventura said he will use his winnings to pay his lawyers’ fees.
Ventura also states he will look further into the book’s creation, visiting book publisher HarperCollins. “They published the book and did no due diligence to find out if the story was true,” Ventura said.
On the other hand, this brings up the veracity of Kyle’s book itself. Many people are wondering why Kyle would not list Ventura’s name in the book in the first place. Kyle would later say he didn’t want to namedrop to sell books. The scrutiny now gets even stronger as Bradley Cooper has been tapped to portray Kyle in an upcoming film to be directed by Clint Eastwood, currently in production.
If Ventura feels bad about anything, it is his participation at future SEAL events are done. “I can’t go to UDT-SEAL reunions anymore because that was the place I always felt safe, and who will be next to throw me under the bus?” Ventura said. “I’d have to spend my time looking over my shoulder,” per CBS News.
[Image Via Tru TV and NBC]
