Jennifer Lopez’s Production Company Was Victorious In “Hustlers” Defamation Suit From The “Real-Life Ramona”

The Hollywood Reporter says that Samantha Barbash, who inspired Jennifer Lopez‘s character Ramona in Hustlers, has lost her legal battle against the producers of the movie. Samantha sued STX, Gloria Sanchez Productions, and JLo’s Nuyorican Productions for defamation but a federal judge rejected that shit.

As everyone knows, Samantha pled guilty to conspiracy, assault, and grand larceny as part of a scheme with some other strippers where they drugged men and ran up their credit cards. The film was based on an article in New York Magazine about the incident which Samantha was even interviewed for. Samantha claimed that producers tried to get her approval for the movie but the offer was low so she turned them down. The movie went on anyway, and so Samantha sued producers for $40 million.

Samantha had a few points of attack on Hustlers and Judge Denise Cote slapped every single one away. Samantha sued over her privacy being breached, suddenly having a character in a Hollywood movie based on her. And Samantha’s defamation argument revolved around the drug use in the film. Samantha argued that while she did drug men and steal their money, she never made the drugs and never tried them herself.

Judge Denise dismissed Samantha’s privacy cause of action because no marketing in the movie used her “name, portrait, picture, or voice.” But maybe they should have because Samantha, AKA Miss Foxita, has a lot to offer:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzpPrwOFgKw/

And while Judge Denise agreed that the drug use was a falsity, since Samantha was out in the world doing interviews and had pled guilty to crimes in open court, she became “a limited-purpose public figure.” So without actual malice on the part of the defendants, the judge didn’t find it to be defaming. In fact, she called it the “least offensive” of all the things going on.

“Barbash pled guilty to drugging individuals without their consent. The Pressler Article reports that Barbash concocted the recipe for the mixture of illegal drugs that rendered the scheme’s victims vulnerable to the fraud. Nor does the FAC plead that the Defendants acted with malice in asserting that Barbash herself used drugs. That assertion is the least offensive of all of the statements of which Barbash complains and is naturally connected to the scheme to which Barbash pleaded guilty and which she discussed with journalists.”

LOL! She was like: “Girl, remember the scene where the guy is crying pleading to return the company money because he’s about to be charged and Ramona tells Constance Wu to hang up on him? Why aren’t you mad about that?”

Sorry Miss Foxita, the drug stuff just wasn’t defamatory enough. Maybe if they had done something really scandalous like making Jennifer wear a flat shoe instead of a 7-inch Lucite platform–then you would have had a case.

Pic: YouTube