A man is suing Nancy Grace after she posted his picture on her show, incorrectly labeled him a “selfie stalker” and likened him to a serial killer.
Ben Seibert was falsely linked to a home invasion in Denver back in January. According to the New York Post, a Denver woman contacted police after a man entered her home at night. She told police he had used her phone to take a selfie. Crime Stoppers in Denver released a photo from the woman’s phone on Jan. 29, but the investigation later cleared Seibert when they discovered the photo of him they were circulating was not taken anywhere near the victim’s home. Friends alerted Seibert that his photo was being disseminated in connection to a crime (can you imagine the awkwardness of that call?) and he contacted police. Seibert was quickly cleared of any involvement in the crime.
Enter Nancy Grace.
According to Seibert’s lawsuit, Grace didn’t bother to check if the story was accurate and went on her show with his picture, branding him a creepy home-invading, selfie-snapping weirdo. The suit states police informed Grace the information was not true, but the show continued to air using his photo:
The lawsuit filed Monday in Denver says Grace, who hosts a show on Turner Broadcasting’s HLN network, incorrectly told millions of viewers that Ben Seibert invaded a woman’s home and snapped a photo of himself on her phone, which she described as a “textbook serial killer’s calling card.” Seibert said Grace humiliated him with her commentary, which went viral on an array of social media sites where readers called him a weirdo, a sicko, a rapist and a pervert. The suit says Grace didn’t check the facts and didn’t care.
Seibert’s lawsuit also names Denver Crime Stoppers (the organization told reporters they pulled the photo from their website when they learned it was a mistake). He is seeking $100,000 in damages. Seibert’s lawyer said he is looking into Grace’s history and other instances where she has made “outrageous and defamatory” statements about people on her show.
“Based on the history we’ve researched regarding Ms. Grace, John Pineau, we’re pretty confident there are other victims,” he said.
Image via Getty.
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