Former L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling filed suit against TMZ and his former girlfriend V. Stiviano for the April 2014 release of the audio recording of Sterling’s racist rant that led to the billionaire losing the NBA franchise. The lawsuit alleges Stiviano “surreptitiously” recorded the conversation and TMZ violated his right to privacy by publishing it. “Stiviano has said Sterling consented to recordings she made on phones while they carried on a sexless relationship,” according to the Associated Press.
“The lawsuit alleges that Stiviano or TMZ doctored the tapes to ‘reflect conversations… that either never occurred, were grossly distorted and/or stated out of context,” according to the Los Angeles Times. Sterling says in the suit the damage done by the tapes, where he chastised Stiviano for associating with black people, was of “unparalleled and unprecedented magnitude.”
