Famed attorney and Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz is reportedly demanding an apology and threatening to sue ViacomCBS and the producers of CBS All Access legal drama “The Good Fight” over the final episode of the fourth season reports Variety.
In the episode a fictional criminal defense attorney character named Benjamin Dafoe (David Alford) is depicted as having previously represented Epstein before Dershowitz. Several references to Dershowitz in connection with Epstein are made, with the Dafoe character calling Dershowitz a ‘shyster’ and then the character stating that “‘shyster’ is just my opinion not a statement of fact”.
Other comments and insinuations are reportedly made in the episode by the character about Dershowitz. Dershowitz’s lawyers sent a letter to CBS, “Good Fight” co-creators and showrunners Robert King and Michelle King and others connected with the show earlier this month demanding CBS All Access stop airing the content in question, a retraction of the statement and a public apology.
They add that the ‘opinion’ disclaimers in the script only shows: “that CBS knew the statements were defamatory, yet sought, albeit weakly, to skirt liability.”
ViacomCBS general counsel responded with a letter defending the episode saying: “We’re confident that no viewer would conclude that Professor Dershowitz is a shyster based on one line of opinion from a fictional character on the series, as opposed to the real-life, factual publications that have called him exactly that.”
Dershowitz insists that he’s actually a fan of series but vows to take it to court if his demands aren’t met: “Nobody’s going to call me a shyster and get away with it.”
Source: Variety
