A 40-year-old actress who sued the Internet Movie Database for posting her real age is "selfish" and is trying to perpetuate a fraud to make potential employers believe she is younger than she is, the website says in a motion to dismiss her lawsuit.
The actress, who filed the suit last month under the name Jane Doe, is seeking $1 million from IMDb and its owner, Amazon.com. Her attorneys said in the suit that "youth is king" in Hollywood and that exposing her true age could cost her movie and TV jobs.
Also read: Actress Sues IMDb for Revealing Her True Age
In a filing last week, the company fired back that the actress' attempts to hide her true age amount to fraud, because she is trying to mislead studios and audiences. Her original filing fueled a debate about ageism and privacy rights, and the aggressive response will only add to it.
"Truth and justice are philosophical pillars of this court," the motion reads. "The perpetuation of fraud, even for an actor's career, is inconsistent with these principles. Plaintiff's attempt to manipulate the federal court system so she can censor IMDb.com's display of her birth date and pretend to the world that she is not 40 years old is selfish, contrary to the public interest and a frivolous abuse of this court's resources."
The site also asked that the plaintiff's identity be revealed to help it defend itself in the lawsuit.
Such a revelation would no doubt embarrass the actress, as it would not only make her real age even more widely known — and show that lengths she went to in an effort to conceal it.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.