William Shatner has been slapped with a $170 million lawsuit from a Florida man who claims to be his long-lost son. Peter Sloan, 59, claims that William Shatner is his biological father and is accusing the Star Trek legend of libel, defamation, and slander, according to the New York Post . Sloan also wants Shatner, 85, to consent to a paternity test and is asking for a jury trial.
In the court filing, Sloan claims his birth mother, Kathy McNeil, had a brief affair with William Shatner in Toronto in 1956. McNeil gave her son up for adoption at five days old and never notified the child’s father. Shatner has previously denied that Sloan, a radio host, is his son.
But Peter alleges he met with William Shatner in 1984 on the set of the show T.J. Hooker and that, at the time, the actor “admitted he was the plaintiff’s father.” A rep for Shatner contacted the man days later and said Shatner had denied paternity and would refuse a DNA test.
William Shatner Sued For $170 Million By Man Claiming To Be Actor’s Son https://t.co/XeXpzO5aiu
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Sloan later registered the web domain petershatner.com and began hosting a local CBS radio show and charity events under the name Peter Shatner in 2011. William Shatner’s lawyer, Erik Hyman, contacted the man once again.
“Bill.?.?. confirmed to me once again that he is not your father. There have been many people over the years who have claimed to be his children or other relatives. He is an incredibly busy, 80-year-old man, and is not interested in spending time discussing this issue with you.”
In the lawsuit, Sloan also alleges that William Shatner’s team managed to get his Twitter feed shut down and had IMDB Pro take down a page he was working on, which he says has hurt his business opportunities. Sloan told the New York Post he is demanding a jury trial and says he wants Shatner to claim paternity. He seeks $30 million in compensatory damages, $90 million in punitive damages and $50 million in pain and suffering.
“I am William Shatner’s son, and I just wish he would acknowledge me.”
But a rep for Shatner also commented on the suit, saying that while the actor is aware of it, he is not giving it credibility.
“Mr. Shatner has three lovely daughters, but no sons.?.?. Mr. Shatner is aware of the lawsuit, but there’s nothing there because he isn’t his father.”
The saga of William Shatner and Peter Sloan has been going on for years. Last May, Shatner’s publicist, Cherry Hepburn, told the Tampa Bay Tribune that the Florida man has been fraudulently posing as Shatner’s son for years after claiming his mother had a one-night stand with the TV star while they were both working in Canada. Sloan claimed his biological mother, who is now deceased, wrote him a letter in the mid-1980s which said, “the possibility exists that Bill Shatner may be your father.”
Shatner’s attorneys warned Sloan against using Shatner’s name to promote his activities, which in the past included the radio show and plans for a tell-all book and a screenplay. But Peter claimed he had every right to use the Shatner name.
“That name is my birthright. I have no problem using it. I believe he owes me at least that much.”
Of that visit to the T.J. Hooker set in the ’80s, Sloan told the Tribune that Shatner took him under his wing and talked to him for 90 minutes, even giving him a hug, after he introduced himself as his biological son. Shatner later introduced Peter to the show’s cast and crew but did not mention what their relationship was.
“I introduced myself and he pointed at me and said, ‘You’re the one. We talked for 90 minutes and he asked me what I wanted out of this. I started crying and said, ‘I just want to hug my father’ and we hugged.”
Peter was able to get a photo with William Shatner and claims the actor even invited him back to watch filming of his TV show the following week. But a few weeks later, he alleges, William Shatner told him that he would never publicly admit he was his father, and he asked Peter to stop calling him.
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[Photo By Rommel Demano/Getty Images]