Hey remember when that Wu Tang affiliated rapper cut his own dick off and jumped from a second story of a Los Angeles apartment building? Well, according to reports, TMZ, who broke the story, had the wrong guy, getting Marques “Andre Roxx” Johnson and Andre “Christ Bearer” Johnson confused and listing the former (Roxx) as the self inflicted victim instead of the latter (Bearer).
Understandably upset at having his name connected with a story about man who cut off his penis in an apparent attempt at self harm, Roxx has filed a defamation suit against the celebrity news site.
The complaint that was filed today in a Delaware federal court reads: “TMZ’s original, inaccurate story immediately spread across the internet and to television and radio news.”
Publications including BET.com, USA Today, and Extra following suit by reporting Roxx’s name in connection to the story, the parent companies of all of them have been named as co-defendants with TMZ. The list includes the likes of Warner Bros., Viacom, Gannet, and iHeartMedia, which is a pretty good list if you are looking for some fat targets.
Roxx says he was in prison when the story came out, the rapper claiming he was “forced to go into protective custody because other inmates began harassing him,” while the publicity also negatively impacted his music career.
One-half of duo Northstar who were signed to Wu-Tang’s label and who worked with RZA on their 2004 album his Bobby Digital alias, RZA spoke out about the tragedy of Christ Bearer’s story back when the story broke in 2014.
“I thought he was a smarter guy than a guy who would do something crazy like that,” he said. “But at the same time, he been in jail recently, he’s been in trouble,” he continued.
Anyone seeking support and information about suicide prevention can call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or contact Beyond Blue.
