A Variety spokesperson told The Associated Press, “While we will not comment on active litigation, we stand by our reporters.”
Francis Ford Coppola, the writer/director of "Megalopolis," poses at the premiere of the film at Roy Thomson Hall during the Toronto International Film Festival, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Toronto.
It says Variety’s “writers and editors, hiding behind supposedly anonymous sources, accused Coppola of manifest incompetence as a motion picture director, of unprofessional behavior on the set of his most recent production, Megalopolis, of setting up some type of scheme so that anyone on the set who had a complaint of harassment or otherwise had nowhere to lodge a complaint, and of hugging topless actresses on the set. Each of these accusations was false.
“It was a collaboration of hundreds of artists, from extras to box office stars, to whom I consistently displayed the utmost respect and my deepest gratitude,” Coppola said. “To see our collective efforts tainted by false, reckless and irresponsible reporting is devastating.”used anonymous reports and videos from crew members of the shooting for “Megalopolis” of a nightclub scene in an Atlanta concert hall in February, 2023.
In a subsequent story about a week later, which is mentioned only parenthetically in Coppola’s lawsuit, one of the women, Lauren Pagone,and agreed to be identified, saying Coppola left her “in shock” when he touched, hugged and kissed her without her consent.Pagone also filed a lawsuit Monday against Coppola in Georgia, alleging that her treatment on the set amounted to civil assault and civil battery.
Asked about the touching and kissing allegations by The AP before the lawsuit was filed, Coppola said, “I don’t even want to . It’s a waste of time.”
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