The man who told Bristol Palin that her mother, former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin, is a “whore” and “evil” in a Hollywood bar last year is now suing Lil’ Palin for defamation. You read that correctly.
Do you remember the infamous encounter at the Saddle Ranch on the Sunset Strip last September? (If not, video is embedded below) a righteous-feeling Stephen Hanks decided to stop by the bullpen to shout “Your mother’s a whore” after Bristol got bucked off a mechanical bull.
So what is Hanks crying about? He says the incident was captured by a reality TV crew with Bristol, and since he never signed a waiver, his appearance in ads for Bristol’s Lifetime program Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp without his written permission entitles him to something.
Furthermore, TMZ reports, the lawsuit claims that Bristol gave an interview in which she singled him out, called him by name, and blamed him for her decision to leave Los Angeles for Alaska. He says she’s lying and he can prove it, pointing to Bristol’s purchase of a new home in Alaska prior to their encounter at Saddle Ranch.
Hanks is suing both Bristol personally, as well as A&E, parent company to Lifetime. Hanks says that her statements against him have hurt both his reputation and his career. Reuters reported another interesting detail, namely that Bristol accused Hanks of being a homosexual. “Bristol Palin first accused Plaintiff off ‘being a homosexual’ in a degrading manner in front of others.”
Hanks’ actions seem to indicate that his biggest axe-to-grind is with A&E rather than Bristol herself. “He has communicated with A&E regarding use of the footage, and they were non-responsive. He felt (filing the lawsuit) was all he could do to protects his rights,” said his lawyer, Michael Gulden.
Sure.
That’s why he had to file in federal court. Not because the law says he has to if he’s seeking more than $75,000 .
Here’s the video: “Your mother’s a whore” is just after 1:40.
[iframe src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/S18gsZ37QXY” width=”560? height=”315?]
I’m at a loss, so I turn to you guys. You’re smart. Does he have a case, or is he just a knucklehead?
