Cindy Lee Garcia, an actress who appeared in the trailer for the controversial film “Innocence of Muslims”, says she had no idea that it was an anti-Muslim work and was led to believe she would be starring in an Egyptian adventure film called “Desert Warriors”. She also contends that the dialogue in the film was dubbed over to contain hateful messages and racial slurs, none of which she was a part of.
Garcia is now bringing a lawsuit against the filmmaker, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, for fraud and slander and has asked YouTube repeatedly to take down the video, saying it has caused her serious negative attention in the form of death threats; YouTube has so far denied her requests, but says their lawyers will meet with her in court today.
“This lawsuit is not an attack on the First Amendment nor on the right of Americans to say what they think, but does request that the offending content be removed from the Internet,” the lawsuit states.
The complaint also says that Garcia was “was fired from her job as a direct result of the film, in as much as she is now considered a target and the safety of those in her presence cannot be guaranteed” and that she is no longer permitted to care for her grandchildren.
Garcia’s lawyer, M. Cris Armenta, said his client “wants to clear her name, get the content taken down and let the world know that she did not consent to have her image used in this way.”
“This is not a 1st Amendment issue,” Armenta reiterated. “This is an invasion of privacy issue.”