“Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary is being sued for defamation by a group opposed to the construction of a data center in Utah after he appeared on Fox News and claimed that some members of the opposition have ties to China, The Hill reported.
The lawsuit, also against Fox News, was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Utah by Alliance for a Better Utah, Elevate Strategies, Gabriel Finlayson and Josh Kanter. After O’Leary’s “attack” during an appearance on Fox News, Canter and Finlayson “suffered devastating reputational damage, significant financial loss, severe emotional distress, and continued threats to their physical safety,” the lawsuit alleges.
“Fox contributed to O’Leary’s smear campaign, causing attacks on Plaintiff to be aired five times in three weeks,” the complaint says. “Despite the inherently unreliable nature of O’Leary’s claims and the apparent lack of support for them, Fox repeatedly invited O’Leary onto its show and allowed his false accusations to be broadcast to millions of viewers without qualification.”
“Fox News Media has publicly corrected the record on all programs where on-air guest Kevin O’Leary’s comments were made, all of which have been widely publicized. We will vigorously defend this lawsuit,” Fox News Media said in a statement regarding the lawsuit.
Representatives for Mr. O’Leary did not respond to requests for comment.
In late June, Fox News issued a statement apologizing for O’Leary’s claims. “Kevin O’Leary was a guest on the show on May 24th to discuss the ongoing controversy surrounding a proposed data center project in Utah. He made specific claims related to opponents of his project. Mr. O’Leary has now corrected the record and explained that there is ‘no evidence’ that the Alliance for a Better Utah, Josh Kantor, and Taylor Knuth are receiving funding from China or the Chinese Communist Party.”
Mr O’Leary released his own statement via social media recanting the allegations. “Recently, I have appeared on various news programs and I want to make it clear that there is no evidence that the Alliance for a Better Utah, Elevate Strategies, Gabriel Finlayson, Taylor Knuth, or Josh Kanter are funded by China or the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.
