Looks like James Woods will have his day in court after all.
In a tentative ruling Wednesday, a judge denied a motion to strike a lawsuit filed by the “Once Upon a Time in America” actor against a Twitter user who called him a cocaine addict.
“The cruelty of having one’s reputation sullied by an anonymous coward is agonizing. My faith in the integrity of the court and the brilliance of my attorneys is vindicated by this victory,” Woods said in a statement to TheWrap. “I am deeply grateful to Judge Recana for his studious deliberation and wisdom in this case of wanton defamation. Twitter users beware: you are not above the law.”
Attorney Lisa Bloom, who represents the man whom she refers to as John Doe, told TheWrap in a statement later Wednesday afternoon: “On Twitter, Mr. Woods enjoys calling strangers ‘clown,’ ‘rat,’ ‘scum’ and other epithets. Mr. Woods insults gay Americans and immigrants. He brags that he could murder a man whose shirt offends him. He claims a prominent publisher ‘whacks off’ to a picture of a terrorist. When Twitter users challenge him, he tells them to ‘put down your crack pipe.’ He’s mockingly accused at least three other Twitter users of using crack cocaine.
“Mr. Woods dishes it out, but he can’t take it. When not-famous, not-wealthy John Doe responded to a James Woods slur on Caitlyn Jenner and Planned Parenthood in kind, calling him a cocaine addict, Mr. Woods sued. Mr. Doe’s suggestion that Mr. Woods was on drugs was not meant to be taken literally, just as Mr. Woods’ ‘put down your crack pipe’ and other mocking language was not serious. This is his simple defense.”
Bloom went on to say that while “today the Court rejected our request to dismiss the case … We look forward to presenting the issues to the Court of Appeal. Mr. Doe is resolved to fight this case for as many months or years as it takes.”
Woods filed his $10 million lawsuit in July 2015, claiming that the Twitter user who goes by the handle Abe List falsely called the actor a “cocaine addict” in a July tweet, thus jeopardizing Woods’ “good name and reputation on an international scale.”
A subsequent filing for the defendant claimed that Woods, an outspoken voice on Twitter, has routinely derided other people via the social media platform.
“Like a bully who can dish it our but can’t take it, Mr. Woods uses his wealth and fame to abuse the court system in order to punish and bully an obscure and much less powerful Twitter user who taunted him,” the filing for the defendant read.
The defendant had sought to have Woods’ lawsuit on First-Amendment grounds.
“Regrettably Mr. Woods’ commitment to the First Amendment stops at his own keyboard,” the filing continued. “When [the defendant] responded to one of Mr. Woods’ provocative tweets with an insult, rather than respond with more words Mr. Woods brought this thoroughly frivolous and censorious lawsuit.”
Earlier in the case, Woods unsuccessfully attempted to learn the identity of the defendant, who remains anonymous in the proceeding.
Woods’ suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, says a Twitter user who goes under the handle Abe List has engaged in a campaign of “childish name-calling” against Woods since at least December 2014, calling him “prick,” “clown-boy,” “joke,” “ridiculous” and “scum.”
But according to Woods’ complaint it was a July 15 tweet reading “cocaine addict James Woods still sniffing and spouting” that put things over the line into suing territory.
“Woods is not now, nor has he ever been, a cocaine addict, and [Abe List] has no reason to believe otherwise,” the suit reads.
Hollywood's Most Outrageous Lawsuits (Photos)
Between Lindsay Lohan firing back at Fox News, Mariah Carey allegedly short changing her domestic help, and Sly Stone winning millions after suing his ex-manager -- stars often turn to the courts to address their squabbles and strife.
Lindsay Lohan filed suit against Fox News and Sean Hannity on Feb. 2, 2015, after a news correspondent accused Lohan's mom of snorting cocaine with her troubled daughter. It didn't take long for Fox to fire back. “We will defend this case to the fullest,” the network told TheWrap the next day.
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A former nanny for Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon filed a lawsuit on Jan. 28, 2015, alleging she was fired after showing the couple's kids too much affection and did not receive overtime pay despite working 100 hours per week.
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Legendary funk artist Sly Stone won $5 million on Jan. 27, 2015, after suing his former manager and entertainment attorney for misappropriating royalties owed him for more than 20 years.
Former “Real Housewives of Orange County” executive producers Patrick Moses and Kevin Kaufman filed a suit against Bravo in Nov. 2014, claiming they were deceitfully ousted from the show and bilked out of millions of dollars after helping to create the show and the franchise.
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Jessie Nizewitz, a contestant on VH1’s “Dating Naked,” filed suit in New York in Aug. 2014, seeking $10 million in damages for emotional distress, humiliation and embarrassment after the show allegedly failed to properly blur her genitals.
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Octavia Spencer was awarded $940,000 in Dec. 2014 after claiming a weight loss company, Sensa Products Inc., wrongfully fired her from an endorsement deal and still owed her money.
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Former Tinder executive Whitney Wolfe filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former company June 2014, alleging she was repeatedly called a "whore" by CMO Justin Mateen and was stripped of her co-founder title simply for being a woman.
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Former TMZ producer Jarrett Gaeta slapped his former employer with a lawsuit in June 2014, claiming he was wrongly terminated. Gaeta was let go after a subordinate accused him of "racist behavior," including defending blackface and sending pictures of watermelons to African-American employees.
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CNN America was sued in Aug. 2014 by a pair of plaintiffs who claim that correspondent Arwa Damon bit one of them and threatened both during a drunken altercation at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
"Boardwalk Empire" actress Paz de la Huerta sued Lionsgate in Aug. 2014 claiming she was run over by an ambulance while filming "Nurse 3D." Lionsgate filed a motion to dismiss, which De La Huerta opposed on Jan. 23, 2015. Lionsgate then opposed her opposition on Jan. 30, 2015, in a seemingly neverending loop of opposing motions.
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Rapper Rakim Mayers, aka A$AP Rocky, was sued in civil court in June 2014 for allegedly assaulting a woman while making his way through a crowd during the 2013 Made in America Festival.
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Nicki Minaj’s former hairstylist and wig designer filed a $30 million lawsuit against the rapper in 2014 for allegedly stealing his wig designs and costing him a potential reality show. A judge later dismissed the case for lack of sufficient evidence.
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West filed suit against YouTube founder Chad Hurley on Oct. 31, 2013, claiming he posted a video of the couple’s surprise engagement to his website without permission. The process was delayed when Hurley’s reps filed an anti-SLAPP motion in an attempt to have the case dismissed.
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Jahmel Binion filed a lawsuit against Shaquille O’Neal in July 2014 when O’Neal posted a photo to his Instagram account mocking Binion, who suffers from a rare condition that causes facial abnormalities, sparse hair and missing teeth. Binion claimed defamation, emotional distress and invasion of privacy in the $25,000 lawsuit, and after pressure from the public O’Neal apologized.
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In 2014 singer Chris Brown was mentioned in a lawsuit filed by the cousin of artist Frank Ocean. The defendant claimed Brown and an associate allegedly kicked and punched him when he confronted them about parking in a spot designated for Ocean at a Los Angeles recording studio. Ocean, who was also injured, later said he wouldn't seek criminal or civil penalties.
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From embezzlement to slander, there’s no shortage of celebrity court action
Between Lindsay Lohan firing back at Fox News, Mariah Carey allegedly short changing her domestic help, and Sly Stone winning millions after suing his ex-manager -- stars often turn to the courts to address their squabbles and strife.