When David Schwimmer Won a $400,000 Defamation Lawsuit Over False Bribe Accusations
Despite David Schwimmer's history of supporting charitable organizations and causes, the Friends star filed a $400,000 defamation lawsuit against Aaron Tonken, a former celebrity fundraiser, who had accused Schwimmer of demanding a bribe. As per The Things, Tonken had earlier claimed that Schwimmer wouldn't go to a charity function in 1997 unless he was given two Rolex watches worth $26,000 each. Tonken alleged that the Little Death actor asked for two watches: one for his father and one for himself.
In June 2006, Schwimmer won the defamation case, as reported by Fox News, and Tonken was incarcerated for more than five years at the time of the complaint. The sentencing stemmed from separate accusations of hundreds of thousands of dollars being embezzled from organizations. The Tangled actor's publicist, Ina Treciokas, disclosed that Tonken had apologized to Schwimmer and withdrew his remarks.
"These statements were made at a time in my life that was unbearable," Tonken stated that time. "Though this statement was an isolated incident and I said it to retaliate against David Schwimmer, I still acknowledge I have no excuse and deeply regret making this untrue statement." On the other hand, "I feel vindicated by the judgment," an official statement by Schwimmer read. "I am pleased that Aaron Tonken has set the record straight and admitted that his statements about me ... were untrue."
The Trust actor worked on a project to help bring attention to the very serious issue of sexual harassment in 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement. He created #That'sHarassment public service announcements. Alongside Israeli writer and director Sigal Avin, Schwimmer co-produced the short films. The public service announcements portrayed actual situations in which someone is approached inappropriately. While appearing on the Today Show, he told host Megyn Kelly that he was motivated to talk about the subject by his responsibilities as a parent to his six-year-old daughter Cleo.
“With my daughter, it’s more about just knowing it’s your body and your space. It’s more about personal space and building confidence in her to speak out and speak up if anything she encounters makes her feel uncomfortable, period,” the Friends star told Megyn Kelly TODAY. “Her body, her hair, it’s hers. She owns it. It’s giving her the courage and confidence to speak up and speak out.”
Schwimmer continued, "She just told me last night that at school on Friday, some boys behind her, some older boys, were kind of touching and kicking her back a little. She turned around and gave them a look," he said. "I said, ‘Next time, Cleo, you need to turn around and firmly but politely say to please stop touching me. If you do that twice and they keep on touching you, you stand up, walk away and find a grownup, period.' It’s important to instill that kind of confidence from an early age."
