TMZ Sues Source Over Jared Leto Taylor Swift Diss Video

In a dramatic turnaround, gossip site TMZ is suing it's source for the infamous video where Jared Leto dissed Taylor Swift on camera. The video featured Jared Leto saying, "I mean f*ck her. I don't give a f*ck about her," which despite his intentions could wildly misrepresent the 30 Seconds to Mars frontman.

He apologized soon after the video was released and then turned around to sue TMZ and its parent company Warner Bros. for invasion of privacy.

But TMZ and larger umbrella company Warner Bros. have turned around to sue their source Jacob Miller and filed a complaint in California this past Friday, Jan. 8. Miller is reportedly the videographer who initially handed over the video to TMZ.

In their lawsuit, TMZ and Warner Bros. are using lawyer Kelly Klaus in their lawsuit. Klaus is the attorney who had previously represented Warner Chappell over the rights to "Happy Birthday," and whether or not the song is in fact in the public domain.

In the complaint released to Billboard, TMZ and Warner Bros. lawyer Kelly Klaus questions it all, stating, "At the heart of this lawsuit is a straightforward question. Who owned the copyright in the allegedly infringed video on December 4, 2015? On that date, Third-Party Defendant Jacob Guy Miller represented to TMZ affiliate EHM that he created the video, that he had the right to and would sell to EHM, and that he was free to do so 'without any obligations to any third party."

The complaint further stated, "If Mr. Miller was the videographer as he said he was, and he had the right to transfer the work on December 4 as he represented, then Plaintiff's infringement claim necessarily fails, because Mr. Miller irrevocably gave EHM the right to publish the work as of that date. If Leto's company Sisyphus touring owned the copyright on December 4, then Mr. Miller breached his representations, and he is liable for any judgement that may issue against TMZ."

In the original video, Leto is seen in a studio listening to "Blank Space," "Style" and "Welcome to New York" in order to critique the music as 30STM preps for its new album. But the video may have been somewhat misrepresented since Leto does offer praise on many of the tracks, before saying, "I mean f*ck her, I don't give a f*ck about her, it's whatever works best for us."

In Leto's copyright lawsuit, he claimed that TMZ had used stolen footage after bribing a cameraman who additionally had no rights to use the video, paying him a total of $2000 for the clip.

Tags

Jared Leto, Taylor Swift, 30 Seconds to Mars