Aviva Nash, CEO of Drum Cafe, is suing Fox News, its commentators Bill O'Reilly, Greta Van Susteren, and network reporter Juliet Huddy for alleged defamation and infliction of emotional distress.
The suit comes after comments in which she alleges the Fox News personalities accused her of being a con artist and stealing taxpayers' money. The comments were made on a July 19 episode of "On the Record With Greta Van Susteren" and a July 24 episode of "The O'Reilly Factor."
- See the video below.
Fox News spent that week covering a report that the inspector general for the General Services Administration was looking into the cost of the agency's 2010 awards ceremony, which cost $270,000. One of the expenses was $21,000 for 4,000 drumsticks for attendees to participate in a drumming presentation.
Huddy referred to the woman leading the presentation in the clip on "O'Reilly" as "this little hippy-dippy chick," which Nash said was humiliating.
On Van Susteren's show, she said it was "unbelievably insane to take taxpayer money to do something like that."
The shows made it unclear whether the Drum Cafe provided the drumsticks or if the clips used were just stock footage. When asked to clarify, Nash's attorney RIchard Ancowitz told The Hollywood Reporter "the drums belonged to Drum Cafe," and the comments made were "negligent, reckless, malicious, and irresponsible behavior."
Nash told THR she is not insane, and has been falsely accused of engaging in a criminal enterprise.
Drum Cafe's website describes itself as "building teams… one beat at a time." It also says they opened the 2008 Beijing Olympics and have performed for Nelson Mandela, Elton John, Will Smith, and Oprah Winfrey, among others.
Check out the "O'Reilly Factor" clip mentioned in the lawsuit below: