Phil McGraw's production company, Peteski Productions, has sued Gawker Media for publishing footage from Dr. Phil's interview with the man behind the Manti Te'o hoax, according to reports.
Filed Monday in Texarkana, Texas, the suit claims the website posted the juiciest parts of the interview online before it had aired in the majority of Dr. Phil markets. The lawsuit (read here in full) also includes a paraphyletic reference to make an attack on the system of content aggregation.
According to the lawsuit, Deadspin's early posting of the episode -- the second of a two-part interview with Tuiasosopo -- had a negative effect on the episode's ratings, because it spoiled the cliffhanger of whether he would demonstrate the Kekua voice.
"In a premeditated plan to steal Peteski's copyrighted material, Deadspin posted the video of the second show to the Deadspin blog not later than 9:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, hours before the Dr. Phil Show aired to over 98 percent of its viewers," the complaint reads. "Although the second show was expected to exceed the ratings number of the first show, in fact, the ratings declined substantially because the result of the 'CLIFFHANGER' was no longer in doubt. It had been misappropriated by Deadspin."
Reports say the first part of Dr. Phil's exclusive interview left viewers wondering if Tuiasosopo would speak in the voice he used to trick Te'o into thinking he was in a long-distance relationship with the fictional woman Lennay Kekua. Before the second episode aired, Deadspin, which originally broke the hoax story in January, posted footage in which Tuiasosopo spoke in Kekua's voice.
Yahoo! News reports Babcock and McWilliams allege that Deadspin's actions resulted in lower ratings for the second episode. They are seeking unspecified damages and an injunction stopping Gawker Media from its continued violation of Dr. Phil's copyright.
Watch the first part of the exclusvie Dr. Phil interview here:
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