Attorneys for Rosie O’Donnell are firing back at a lawsuit filed against the ex co-host of “The View” by a former producer of the show, calling the complaint “inflammatory and defective.”
O’Donnell is being sued by former “View” senior producer Jennifer Shepard-Brookman, who claims that she was fired after O’Donnell accused her of leaking confidential information about the show to the media.
However, in a memorandum supporting O’Donnell’s motion to dismiss the suit filed Thursday in New York Supreme Court, O’Donnell’s lawyers say she had no authority over ABC’s employment decisions, and that Shepard-Brookman fails to make her case.
“Brookman’s attempt to disclaim all responsibility for her situation and collect a payout by filing an inflammatory and defective complaint against a former co-host of the Show should be rejected,” the memo reads.
Among the defects in Shepard-Brookman’s complaint, according to O’Donnell’s legal team: She never states the specific comments that O’Donnell allegedly made.
“Instead, Brookman asks this Court to accept her self-serving characterization of what O’Donnell allegedly said,” the memo reads.
O’Donnell’s lawyers are asking that Shepard-Brookman’s suit be tossed, or, alternately, that “scandalous and prejudicial matters alleged in her Complaint be stricken.”
In her suit, Shepard-Brookman — who was canned from “The View” in March, more than a month after O’Donnell exited the show — called O’Donnell a “bully” who created a threatening environment at the show, making her fear for her safety.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.