The former boyfriend of heiress Paris Hilton has reportedly offered to drop his lawsuit against the Hilton family if they let him distribute the infamous sex tape showing the then-couple in a sex romp on a pay-per-view basis. And the family's attorney has all but told him to take a hike.
Hilton attorney Heather McCloskey called Rick Salomon's proposal "beneath contempt" in a court filing earlier this month, while Salomon's attorney, Martin Singer, told The Smoking Gun that the Hiltons are fabricating the story of the offer.
Salomon sued the Hiltons for $10 million in November 2003, charging them with slander and with accusing him of improper conduct in videotaping his romp with the heiress. Now married to actress Shannen Doherty, Salomon has denied any responsibility for the leaking of the tape to the Internet.
The videotape became a source of controversy for SexBrat.com, which said in November they would not show any Paris Hilton videotape on its Website or endorse anyone purporting to sell or trade the tape anywhere else in the marketplace. The company has speculated aloud that copies of the tape were made even before they received theirs.
"It is SexBrat.com's belief that there are two victims in this matter: SexBrat.com and Paris Hilton," said Kevin (KB) Blatt, whose KB Consultants was retained to handle publicity for Seattle-based Arvad Corporation, the parent of SexBrat.com, at the time. He added that the company's attorneys are looking into a possible fraud case based on the belief that the widely-publicized sex tape had been made and brought to SexBrat "suspiciously."
SexBrat's plans in the matter included preparations to file multiple lawsuits against Donald Thrasher, whom Blatt said advised SexBrat he was the broker of the Hilton tapes on Salomon's behalf. Blatt also said SexBrat came to believe that due diligence and discovery proved the Hilton sex tape wasn't made with her consent.
"We believe it was misrepresented to us at the time the dealings went down," Blatt said at the time. "Unfortunately, SexBrat is out a lot of money for the purchase of this tape, and Paris Hilton's public persona has been tarnished." The site agreed not to air or show the tape and destroy any copies it still had, and to cooperate with Hilton's legal team in the case.
