“Innocence of Muslims” star Cindy Lee Garcia sues movie producer
Cindy Lee Garcia — one of the actress from the anti-Islam movie “The Innocence of Muslims,” which has recently sparked rage across Arab nations all over the world — is taking legal action against the producer of the movie, claiming that she was duped into acting in the “vile and reprehensible” film.
According to reports, Cindy Lee Garcia filed the lawsuit on Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court against producer Nakoula Basseley Nakoula (who is also known as Sam Bacile), YouTube and Google. In the suit, Garcia is suing over fraud, invasion of privacy, slander and intentional infliction of emotional stress, among other causes.
The complaint also stated that Cindy Lee Garcia said she responded to a casting call posted in “Backstage” for a movie titled “Desert Warrior.” The actress said that the film was represented to her as being a historical “Arabian Desert adventure film.” Garcia added the prophet Muhammad’s name was not mentioned during the filming or when she was on set. The actress said that her acting work from “Desert Warrior” has since been posted on the Internet in the film “The Innocence of Muslims,” making it look like she “voluntarily performed in a hateful anti-Islamic production.” Garcia also claimed that her voice was dubbed in the movie to include lines that insulted the Muslim prophet Muhammad, which she claims she never said.
After receiving multiple death threats since the release of the film, Cindy Lee Garcia claims she has been forced into hiding. The actress added that she has also been fired from her job as a result of the film.
Cindy Lee Garcia is also requesting an injunction to pull the video down from the Internet. A hearing will be heard on the injunction request Thursday morning at 8:30 AM.
Meanwhile, Garcia’s attorney, M. Cris Armenta said that her client filed the lawsuit and request for injunction because “she wants to clear her name. She has been the subject of death threats. She did not consent to use her image or likeness in this type of production.”
“She was told it was an adventure film and when she made inquiries directly to Bacile [Nakoula] he told her it was about ancient Egypt,” Armenta added. “She has the script…There were no religious references made on set, or in script, nor was there any religious content made on set or in the script. She would not have consented to the use of her performance in that fashion.”
As for the death threats, Armenta said that her client’s life has “changed substantially” since the “Innocence of Muslims” was posted, but she refused to elaborate on the kind of precautions her client has taken due to concerns for her safety.