Phoebe Bridgers is firing back at a defamation lawsuit filed by producer Chris Nelson, standing by her abuse allegations against him and accusing him of using the court system to try to silence her.
Attorneys for Bridgers urged a Los Angeles court on Monday to dismiss Nelson’s lawsuit, which claims the singer defamed him by posting to Instagram that she had “witnessed” and could “personally verify” allegations of abuse against the producer.
Monday’s filings included a sworn statement from Bridgers that she continues to believe her post was true – and her lawyers argued that Nelson simply filed his lawsuit to shut her up.
“Mr. Nelson is seeking to chill Ms. Bridgers’ allegations of abusive conduct, which are protected by the First Amendment,” the singer’s lawyers wrote.
Bridgers posted to Instagram in October 2020 that she had “witnessed and can personally verify much of the abuse (grooming, stealing, violence) perpetuated by Chris Nelson.” She directed her followers to a separate thread from friend Emily Bannon, which contained more extensive allegations against Nelson.
Nelson sued Bridgers for defamation in September, claiming her post was false and harmful. He said it was part of a “vendetta to destroy plaintiff’s reputation,” allegedly fueled by the fact that he, Bridgers and Bannon had previously been in consensual sexual relationship.
After a judge admonished him for not properly serving Bridgers with the lawsuit, Nelson refiled the case in December – only this time containing more than 100 pages of revealing texts and images involving the star singer.
In Monday’s response, Bridgers not only refuted Nelson’s lawsuit, but also accused him of blatantly trying to litigate his case through the media. Rather than serve her with the “unnecessarily salacious” complaint, she claimed he had leaked it to journalists before he ever even filed it in court.
“It is clear that Mr. Nelson voluntarily and intentionally published his ‘amended’ complaint to the media before it was even filed in a transparent attempt to embarrass Ms. Bridgers and to get attention for his dispute with her,” her attorneys wrote.
More broadly, Bridgers argued that Nelson’s lawsuit should be dismissed because he cannot prove that she acted with “actual malice” – that she had intentionally lied when she posted her claims to Instagram.
“I believe that the statements I made in my Instagram story are true,” Bridgers wrote in a filing on Monday. “My statements were made based on my personal knowledge, including statements I personally heard Mr. Nelson make, as well as my own observations.”
Monday’s filing cited California’s so-called anti-SLAPP law, which empowers judges to quickly dismiss faulty lawsuits that are aimed at silencing free speech on matters of public concern. Citing his leaks to the press, Bridgers argued Nelson had clearly “injected” their dispute into the public eye.
“His actions have shown that his primary interest is in debating these issues of social justice in the public forum rather than in seeking compensation for alleged harm to him in a civil forum,” her lawyers wrote.
An attorney for Nelson did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.