Hollywood ‘It Boy’ Faked Emails in Rape Lawsuit, Defense Says

A self-described Hollywood “It boy” concocted fake emails to support a $100 million sexual assault lawsuit against Viacom, the defense alleged on Wednesday.

Rovier Carrington filed suit in May 2018, accusing former MTV executive Brian Graden of exploiting him for sex. Carrington also alleged that he was raped by Brad Grey, the late chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, and was subsequently “blacklisted” at Viacom.

Carrington has since asked the court’s permission to drop the lawsuit, but the defense is not letting the matter go that easily. In a letter to Judge Katherine Polk Failla on Wednesday, attorney Larry Stein alleges that a forensic examination has determined that Carrington faked 39 emails to support his suit. The emails, many of which were purported to be between Graden and Carrington, were intended to show contemporaneous corroboration for his sexual abuse claims.

“Not one of 39 contested emails that Plaintiff filed in support of his claims exists in native form in any of his accounts,” Stein writes.

Carrington claimed to have developed various ideas for reality shows, including one based on his own life, to be called “The Life of a Trendsetter.” He alleged that Graden used the promise of developing his ideas to exploit him for sex, and then stole his pitch for a gay dating show.

Stein alleges that Carrington deleted two email accounts in order to try to thwart discovery in the case. According to the letter, Carrington’s attorney, Kevin Landau, had previously claimed that Carrington had deactivated the primary email account in question years earlier, and that he could not recover the original emails.

But the defense obtained discovery from Google, showing that the account was deactivated on June 19, 2018, a day after Carrington filed copies of the emails along with an amended complaint. Another email account, hosted by Microsoft, was also deleted in September 2018, well after notices to preserve evidence and the commencement of court-ordered discovery.

“In short, Plaintiff has affirmatively sought to delete all traces of the email records that he filed as exhibits to the amended complaint in this action,” Stein writes.

Landau backed out of the case in September, saying he had not been paid for his legal work. Carrington has since represented himself.

Stein said he would file a motion for monetary sanctions against Carrington for his “fraud on the Court and spoliation” of evidence.

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