Cindy Lee Garcia has filed suit in Los Angeles against Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, claiming her likeness has been violated in the film Innocence of Muslims.
She is also taking aim at YouTube.com bosses because they are refusing to remove the film from their video-sharing website, even though she has alerted them to the fact the movie clip features an unauthorised use of her image.
In the legal documents, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Garcia claims she was told the shoot was for an “historical Arabian Desert adventure film” when she responded to a casting call for a movie titled Desert Warrior.
She alleges producers concealed the purpose and content of the film, and that the project was altered in editing to make it appear that Garcia “voluntarily performed in a hateful anti-Islamic production”.
Her lawyer writes, “The Film is vile and reprehensible. Plaintiff was unaware of the vile content contained in the Film, as the content and overall purpose of the Film was concealed from them at all times.”
Garcia claims she has received death threats as a result of her involvement in the film, and her family has banned her from seeing her grandchildren. She has also been fired from her day job by employers who fear for their own safety.
