Danny Elfman has lost his bid to dismiss a lawsuit raised against him by fellow composer Nomi Abadi.
The lawsuit comes in relation to statements he made with Rolling Stone in 2023, which were then included in an investigative report centred around a sexual harassment settlement made with Abadi.
According to a report by Variety, the composer – who has worked on huge projects like creating the theme for The Simpsons and creating the score to Batman (1989) – attempted to have his former protégé’s defamation lawsuit thrown out. This, he attempted to do by saying that the comments to Rolling Stone were protected as were made in anticipation of him suing the outlet for defamation.
Now, a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge called Gail Killefer has confirmed that Abadi’s lawsuit will move forward. Killefer also stated that is not permitted to take advantage of a California statute which allows for the early dismissal of cases intended to chill free speech.
The judge also stated that the letter shared with RS “functions more as a press release rather than a demand letter”, and said that the court was not convinced that Elfman “seriously contemplated” filing a lawsuit against the outlet.
This ruling is likely to be appealed by Elfman, with the composer’s attorney Camille Vasquez telling Variety: “We respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling and are optimistic that the Court of Appeal will agree with us that this case ought to be dismissed.”
The legal action between the composer and his former protégé stems came to a head in July last year. During that time, Abadi sued Elfman and claimed that he defamed her by making “appalling lies” in response to Rolling Stone’s report that he settled a sexual harassment allegation for $830,000.
The alleged lies made by Elfman included his claims that he did not engage in sexual misconduct towards Abadi. He denied her claims that he masturbated in front of her, touched her inappropriately, and “placed his bodily fluids in a martini glass he presented to Nomi”. Abadi’s complaint also alleged that Elfman and his team portrayed her as someone seeking revenge and money after being rejected by her idol.
Alleged incidents of sexual harassment and misconduct took place between 2015 and 2016, Abadi claims. Previous reports claimed that the high-profile producer entered into a non-public settlement and nondisclosure agreement with Abadi, however this was denied by Elfman through an attorney. Elfman was then sued by Abadi for allegedly failing to pay the full $830,000 settlement.
In Elfman’s bid to dismiss the lawsuit, his attorney Camille Vasquez – who famously defended Johnny Depp in his lawsuit against Amber Heard – claimed that the one-year statute of limitations had expired as Elfman’s comments were provided to Rolling Stone in March 2023.
This was overruled by the judge, however, who highlighted that the statements in question were published in July of that year, meaning Abadi’s lawsuit was filed in time.
This is a developing story.
