'An effort to harass, annoy, alarm, and humiliate': Hunter Biden sues Fox News over nude photos showed during mock trial series

Hunter Biden (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

Hunter Biden has filed a lawsuit against Fox News over its six-part series involving a mock trial of the current president’s son on two fictional criminal charges alleging that the network unlawfully showed nonconsensual images and video depicting him nude and engaged in sexual acts. The show, titled “ The Trial of Hunter Biden ,” was taken down by the network in April.

Biden is being represented in the matter by Tina Glandian , a partner at celebrity attorney Mark Geragos ‘ firm who previously represented former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett over the hoax hate crime for which he claimed to be a victim.

According to the complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court on Sunday, the series, which first aired in 2022, targeted Biden “in an effort to harass, annoy, alarm, and humiliate him, and tarnish his reputation.”

“Far from reporting on a newsworthy event, Fox sought to commercialize Mr. Biden’s personality through a form of treatment distinct from the dissemination of news or information. Indeed, the entire miniseries is fictionalized and based on a nonexistent criminal case,” the suit states. “While using certain true information, the series intentionally manipulates the facts, distorts the truth, narrates happenings out of context, and invents dialogue intended to entertain. Thus, the viewer of the series cannot decipher what is fact and what is fiction, which is highly damaging to Mr. Biden.”

The show purports to be a mock trial of Biden as he faces hypothetical charges of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and bribery. During the trial, several “witnesses” testified and mock prosecutors admitted “evidence,” which included the intimate images and videos of Biden that make up the crux of the allegations, per the suit.

According to the complaint, Fox published and disseminated the intimate images of Biden to its audience of millions as “part of an entertainment program in order to humiliate, harass, annoy, and alarm” Biden. It further states that when the images were originally posted on X (formerly Twitter) “as part of an organized effort by exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui and his followers,” the social media platform moved swiftly to have them taken down as violative of its revenge porn policies.

“In publishing and disseminating these Intimate Images, Fox knew that these private and confidential images were hacked, stolen, and/or manipulated digital material which were intended to remain private and confidential, but which had been unlawfully procured and disseminated without Mr. Biden’s consent,” the complaint states. “The unauthorized publication and dissemination of the Intimate Images has caused Mr. Biden severe emotional distress, humiliation, and mental anguish, as well as irreparable injury to his personal and professional reputation.”

Biden, who also asserted claims for the intentional infliction of emotional distress and unjust enrichment, is seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief from Fox News.

Fox News previously defended the series in a statement sent to NPR in April, saying Biden’s lawyers were “belatedly” attacking Fox News over “constitutionally protected coverage regarding their client.” The network issued the following statement to Law&Crime Monday morning:

“This entirely politically motivated lawsuit is devoid of merit. The core complaint stems from a 2022 streaming program that Mr. Biden did not complain about until sending a letter in late April 2024. The program was removed within days of the letter, in an abundance of caution, but Hunter Biden is a public figure who has been the subject of multiple investigations and is now a convicted felon. Consistent with the First Amendment, FOX News has accurately covered the newsworthy events of Mr. Biden’s own making, and we look forward to vindicating our rights in court.”

Biden last month was convicted on federal charges of felony gun acquisition and possession. Prosecutors argued that Biden lied on forms required to purchase a gun when he claimed he was not using or addicted to illegal drugs. A date for Biden’s sentencing hearing has not yet been set.

The post ‘An effort to harass, annoy, alarm, and humiliate’: Hunter Biden sues Fox News over nude photos showed during mock trial series first appeared on Law & Crime .