Donald Sterling Is Suing TMZ Over The Leaked V. Stiviano Tapes

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Donald Sterling has filed a lawsuit against TMZ and his former friend, Vivian Stiviano, over tapes that were leaked last April that revealed Sterling making racially charged statements to Stiviano while in his home. The lawsuit, filed last week, indicates that Sterling was not aware Stiviano was recording him, and was a violation of his privacy.

On the recordings, which were published by TMZ on April 25, 2014, Sterling scolds Stiviano for associating with African Americans in public and warned her not to attend Clippers games with black people.

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.”

Stiviano’s attorney has claimed that Sterling was aware his client had recorded him, and that she had nothing to do with the tapes being leaked to TMZ.

After the recordings were made public, Sterling was fined $2.5 million by the NBA, and he was eventually forced into selling his stake in the team. Microsoft billionaire Steve Ballmer ended up purchasing the team for $2 billion.

(via L.A. Times)

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