Peteski Productions, Phil McGraw's production company, has filed suit in a Texarkana court against Gawker Media for copyright infringement.
Deadspin, the sports affiliate of Gawker that broke the Manti T'eo story, is being sued for posting clips of an interview McGraw performed on "Dr. Phil" with Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the man who invented a fake girlfriend to trick Notre Dame star linebacker T'eo.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the suit alleges that Deadspin posted the footage before that episode of "Dr. Phil" had been aired in the majority of markets. The suit seeks punitive damages, actual damages to be determined at trial and an injunction to prevent Gawker Media from continuing to infringe on Peteski Production's copyright, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In doing so the suit compared Gawker to a parasitic fish.
"A remora is a fish, sometimes called a suckerfish, which attaches itself to other fish like sharks," the suit reads. "The host fish gains nothing from the relationship but the remora is enriched by obtaining benefits (usually food and transportation) from the host... Gawker received substantial benefits from its infringement but Pateski received nothing that is, unless its damages are compensated in this lawsuit."
T'eo, a start linebacker at Notre Dame and Heisman Trophy finalist, had spoken all season long about his girlfriend Lennay Kekua who had died after a bout with cancer in October. Led by the play of T'eo Notre Dame went undefeated as the story of T'eo became the stuff of legends.
Deadspin reported in January that T'eo's relationship had not only been exclusively online and over the phone but also that his girlfriend was the figment of the imagination of a prankster. All signs pointed to Tuiasosopo as the culprit.
McGraw was able to obtain an exclusive interview with Tuiasosopo and spread the interview into two separate episodes of "Dr. Phil." The first episode served almost entirely as a teaser for the second episode in which Tuiasosopo imitated the voice he had used to create "Lennay Kekua".
What the suit alleges is that Deadspin posted video from the second episode containing Tuiasosopo doing the voice at 9:30 a.m., before the show had run in 98 percent of markets, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Gawker has yet to comment on the suit. Gawker is also currently fighting a suit brought against them by wrestler Hulk Hogan over the publication of a sex tape.
