TMZ<\/a>, Demi Engemann was slapped with a lawsuit from Marciano Brunette for falsely (and continuously) referring to him as a \u201csexual predator.\u201d He also denies her claims that he assaulted her. <\/p>\nBrunette further accused Engemann of lying about their interaction at the \u201cVanderpump Villa\u201d in Italy last year. He claimed the kiss they shared off camera was consensual, despite her allegations. <\/p>\n
Brunette also claimed that the Mormon Wives star\u2019s story about what happened in Italy has \u201cshifted.\u201d <\/p>\n
He alleged she has \u201creframed the obviously consensual interaction as one of sexual misconduct. Then she went with \u201csexual assault\u201d to make a storyline for herself. She made the allegations throughout the latest season of Mormon Wives.<\/p>\n
Following the third season premiere of Mormon Wives, Brunette issued a statement to PEOPLE denying all assault allegations. <\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be absolutely clear: I am taking this matter extremely seriously,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is the most difficult situation I have ever faced, and the allegations against me are not only entirely false but profoundly damaging. I remain committed to addressing this issue fully and transparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Mormon Wives\u2019 Producer Jeff Jenkin Is Also Being Sued <\/p>\n
Along with Engemann, Brunette is suing Mormon Wives producer Jeff Jenkins, stating that the Hulu show\u2019s production \u201caired the allegations in a way designed to maximize impact while cutting Marciano out and denying him any meaningful opportunity to respond.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brunette further stated that the reality TV show\u2019s production team had \u201cobvious reasons\u201d to doubt Engemann\u2019s account. This included \u201cinconsistencies, delay, and facts known to Production that undermined the claims.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, he claimed that the show \u201camplified the same accusations for profit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brunette has included text message exchanges between him and Engemann in his documents. He said that Engemann stayed in contact with him following the Italy trip. She also shared her location with him. \u201cThat behavior confirms a continued relationship,\u201d he stated. \u201cNot a person reacting to sexual assault.\u201d <\/p>\n
The lawsuit further stated that Engemann\u2019s false claims towards Brunette have resulted in \u201clost professional opportunities, harassment by strangers, and lasting harm\u201d to his reputation. <\/p>\n
Brunette is suing Engemann and the production team for damages. He also noted that he wants a \u201cnarrowly tailored injunction\u201d that prohibits the defendants from \u201crepeating and republishing all of the statements that are adjudicated by this Court to be defamatory.\u201d <\/p>\n
Engemann recently repeated her allegations against Brunette during the Mormon Wives reunion. \u201cI think just like deep, deep wounds and things for me that I haven\u2019t fully uncovered,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd things I know I\u2019ve been through that I blocked out as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A castmate of Hulu\u2019s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is being sued for defamation after she accused…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":173652,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,1093,437],"class_list":{"0":"post-173651","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-reality-tv","13":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}