A jury ruled against Damon “Dame” Dash in a copyright infringement and defamation lawsuit on Wednesday. The Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder must pay a total of $805,000 to director Josh Webber and Muddy Water Pictures.
The plaintiffs sued Dame Dash for allegedly trying to promote himself as a producer for the Dear Frank motion picture after he was removed from the project. Supposedly, Dash even changed the film’s title to The List.
Back in 2016, Muddy Water Pictures hired Dame Dash to co-direct Dear Frank. Two years later, the company fired Dash for allegedly being high on the set. The filmmakers filed the lawsuit in 2019.
Dear Frank stars Brian White, Claudia Jordan, Columbus Short, Nicholas Turturro, Torrei Hart, and Kearia Schroeder. Hip Hop recording artist Lil Durk appears in the movie as well.
Dame Dash has now responded to losing in court. The 50-year-old entrepreneur posted about the legal defeat on his verified Instagram page.
“You have to lose some battles to win a war… stay tuned #fatliars #youllneverbeme. Don’t ever say you Directed MY movie,” wrote Dash in the IG caption.
JOsh Webber also reacted to the news of his legal victory over Dame Dash on his Instagram account. The former New York Film Academy student posted, “Case closed. 🤡 @duskopoppington #dearfrankmovie.”
The jury awarded Muddy Water Pictures $30,000 for copyright infringement and $125,000 in punitive damages. Webber won $400,000 in compensatory damages for defamation and $250,000 in punitive damages.