Английская Википедия:Bryan Freedman

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Bryan Freedman is an American entertainment lawyer and litigator. He is co-founder of the Los Angeles–based law firm Freedman & Taitelman LLP. Freedman is known for representing many high-profile defendants in the entertainment industry, including actors, sportspeople as well as motion pictures and television companies, among others.

Bryan Freedman also represented several parties represented by the Sony Pictures hack and was instrumental in the US$500 million litigation related to the Michael Jackson Estate's debt.

Education and personal life

Bryan Freedman attended University of California, Berkeley. Continuing his studies at the McGeorge School of Law, he attained his Juris Doctor. Freedman lives with his family in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. His son Spencer Freedman is a college basketball player for the Harvard Crimson of the Ivy League.

Career

After graduating from law school, Freedman was admitted to the California State Bar in 1991. Bryan Freedman met his business partner Michael Taitelman while in law school at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1997 they founded Freedman & Taitelman LLP, a law firm mostly representing clients from the entertainment industry. Since 1997, Freedman has gradually established his reputation as a celebrity lawyer through a series of high-profile cases.

As of 2022, he has been listed in the Hollywood's Top 100 Attorneys by The Hollywood Reporter 14 times in a row.

Lawsuits

Chris Harrison

Bryan Freedman represented Chris Harrison, an American television and game show host after Harrison faced criticism for defending a contestant on The Bachelor accused of racism. During a controversial interview with former Bachelorette star Rachel Lindsay, Harrison defended former contestant Rachael Kirkconnell for attending an "Old South" ball in 2018 with her sorority at Georgia College & State University. The ball was hosted by Kappa Alpha Order (KA), a collegiate fraternity with historical ties to the Ku Klux Klan that claims Robert E. Lee as its "spiritual founder".

Following public criticism, Harrison had to depart the franchise. According to a number of sources, Freedman was hired to negotiate an eight figure payout from the network. It was subsequently reported that the payout was a $10m payout.

Gabrielle Union

Gabrielle Union was a judge for America's Got Talent for its fourteenth season, but the show failed to renew her contract for another season in November 2019, allegedly after she spoke out against racism. Union's fellow America's Got Talent judge Julianne Hough's contract was also declined to be renewed. In May 2020 Union filed a discrimination suit against the producers of America's Got Talent, citing racism and prejudice. Freedman managed a settlement with an "amicable resolution", although the terms of the agreement were not disclosed publicly.

Megyn Kelly

In 2018, Freedman defended TV host Megyn Kelly after she was fired from NBC for questioning why blackface is racist in the Halloween segment on her talk show. She asked contestants "What is racist?" and said that in her youth, blackface was "OK, as long as you were dressing up as, like, a character". Kelly was then accused of defending Halloween costumes that incorporate blackface. She issued a public apology but her talk show was cancelled within day and she was fired.

Freedman accused the network of allowing "completely false and irresponsible" rumors to circulate and claimed she should have received the remainder of her contract, and NBC ultimately agreed to pay the full remainder of her contract.

Michael Jackson Estate

Bryan Freedman was instrumental (along with Howard Weitzman and executors John Branca and John McClain) in handling the estate's disputed debt left after Michael Jackson's death. In particular, Freedman successfully handled the $100 million Leaving Neverland lawsuit against HBO and $500 million worth of the estate's debt.

Notable clients

• Alanis Morissette
• Bethenny Frankel
• Chris Cuomo
• Christopher Nolan
• Deborah Dugan
• Diplo
• Don Lemon
• FKA twigs
• Jeff Ross
• Julia Roberts
• Kate Beckinsale
• Kevin Spacey
• Lil Pump
• Linkin Park
• Mariah Carey
• Mike Richards
• Octavia Spencer
• Quentin Tarantino
• Rebel Entertainment (talent agency)
• Robert Downey Jr.
• Seth Rogen
• Tucker Carlson
• Vin Diesel

Extra links

• Freedman & Taitelman LLP
• The Lawyers of Distinction