Tyrese Hit with $10 Million Defamation Lawsuit

R&B singer Tyrese Gibson hit with a $10 million defamation of character lawsuit for comments made on The Breakfast Club...

From The Blast

Tyrese Gibson is being sued for millions by a director over negative statements he made about him on ‘The Breakfast Club.’

The “Fast & Furious” star is being sued by Bryan Barber for defamation, and libel, and he wants a whopping $10 million in damages.

According to legal documents, obtained by The Blast, Barber is claiming the actor made inaccurate and defamatory statements about him during a September 7 appearance on “The Breakfast Club.”

Barker claimed that the “Baby Boy” actor attacked his “character and reputation” during the episode by stating, “Barber took Gibson’s [interview] footage and refused to give it back; Gibson paid [Barber] $35,000.00 total to film the interview footage; and Barber also stole footage from two other public figures – Big Boi and Dallas Austin.”

The filmmaker recalled he was hired by Gibson back in 2019, to conduct and edit a sitdown interview of him with Charlamagne Tha God. Gibson’s ex-wife, Samantha Lee, would be sitting with the actor during the filming.

Barber, the CEO and founder of Pivot Originals — a video streaming platform — says his company would provide cameras, lights, and editing following the filming for Gibson.

Gibson and Barker agreed that the interview would be filmed over a day and both parties “would split (on a 50/50 basis) the revenue derived from the streaming and/or other distribution.” However, that wasn’t the case as Gibson requested a second day of shooting under the guise of wanting a “‘B-Roll’ footage of Gibson spending time with his wife and their newborn daughter.”

As for Gibson’s claim about Barber refusing to release the interview footage, the music video director claimed the actor’s management specifically instructed him not to release any portion of the interview to protect the reputation of the “Fast 9” star.

“Gibson refused to adhere to the previous 50/50 revenue split that he and Barber previously negotiated for the CTG Interview,” the document reads.

Tyrese proceeded to mention the situation on an appearance on ‘The Breakfast Club’ claiming Barker was holding the footage hostage. In the interview, Gibson claims he spent $35,000 on it, and Barker will not release it.

Now, Barker claims those defamatory statements, and Gibson knew that “the success of Pivot Originals hinges largely on establishing and maintaining trust with original content creators.” Nevertheless, he made those remarks, knowing they weren’t true.

Barber is asking for damages in the amount of no less than $10,000,000, claiming the statements constituted slander per se to injuring his profession as a director (and editor/producer) and his business.