Article from Reuters by Jason Szep.
A U.S. war veteran who lost both arms in Iraq has sued Oscar-winning director Michael Moore for $85 million, saying television clips were used without his permission in the anti-war documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11” and gave a false impression that he opposed the war.
Sgt. Peter Damon, 33, a supporter of President George W. Bush and the Iraq war, claims Moore misused the footage to portray him “in a false light” and as “disagreeing with the president about the war effort and as disagreeing with the war effort itself.”
“It was kind of almost like the enemy was using me for propaganda. What soldier wants to be involved in that?” Damon told CBS’s local television news affiliate. “I didn’t lose my arms over there to come back and be used as ammunition against my commander-in-chief.”
In a suit that also names Miramax Films Corp. and several other film companies, Damon says Moore never sought his consent for using segments of an NBC Nightly News interview with Damon while he was in hospital.
According to the complaint filed in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston and obtained by Reuters on Thursday, Damon is seeking damages for “loss of reputation, emotional distress, embarrassment, and personal humiliation.”
Damon said he felt betrayed by the filmmaker, whose “Fahrenheit 9/11” won the top prize at the Cannes film festival and was the highest-grossing documentary ever at nearly $120 million.
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In an interview in front of his house, Damon told local CBS television: “The original idea was supposed to be something positive about the treatment we were receiving … not something to be used in a story talking about veterans being left behind because as you can see behind me I’m the last person who can say I am being left behind,” he said, gesturing to his home.
Damon is seeking $75 million in damages, while his wife is seeking another $10 million due to “mental distress and anguish” suffered by her husband because of the film. He said he would donate the money to veteran’s groups.
