Nick Offerman's Dumb Money Role Could Spark Legal Trouble For Sony
"Dumb Money" may be yet another true story spun into comedic gold by director Craig Gillespie, but at least one audience member won't be laughing when it opens this month, as from his perspective, the film may have spun things just a bit too much.
Ken Griffin — the billionaire founder, CEO, CIO, and majority stake owner of Citadel Investment Group and owner of Citadel Securities — is apparently displeased with his portrayal in the Sony Pictures film (per letters obtained by the New York Post and Puck News' Matthew Belloni), in which he is played by "Parks and Rec" star and all-around national treasure Nick Offerman. While Griffin — or perhaps more precisely, his legal team — has nothing but praise for Offerman's "inspired" casting, he and his team take umbrage with the collusion narrative presented by the story.
It has been previously alleged that Griffin's company had worked with trading platform Robinhood to prevent further trading of the GameStop stock following its unprecedented market fluctuations, a claim that Griffin denied in testimony before Congress. A report from the SEC found this alleged collusion to be extremely unlikely and a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit based on this alleged claim in November of 2021, citing a lack of evidence. It's the opinion of Griffin's attorneys that "Dumb Money" is wrongfully accusing Griffin of perjury. As of writing, matters have not progressed beyond words exchanged between Griffin's and Sony's legal teams, though the latter is no stranger to these sorts of legal battles.
Sony was threatened with once legal action by a music legend
In 2016, Sony Pictures was threatened with a similar lawsuit from none other than Dr. Dre (real name Andre Young) over the music biopic "Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge, and Michel'le." Airing on Lifetime, the film followed the life of R&B artist Michel'le (played by Rhyon Nicole Brown), with the real Michel'le serving as its narrator.
As the title implies, her relationships with both Suge Knight and Dr. Dre were central to the story, including the alleged abuse she experienced at the hands of both men. The Beats founder denied these allegations and seemingly implied that the incidents depicted were entirely false. Nonetheless, Dr. Dre never formally filed suit, and the dispute evaporated.
The same outcome may very well be in the cards for the potential Griffin v. Sony battle, as it's usually never in either party's best interest to go to trial. In the end, a real suit might not materialize or might be settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.