Actress Sharon Stone suggested that the earthquake in Sichuan Province that killed 70,000 people was due to “karma” for China’s mistreatment of Tibet. Now, 1,000 Chinese from the region have filed a lawsuit against Stone for “emotional distress”
She said the following in an interview with a reporter during the Cannes Film Festival:
"At first, I'm not happy with the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans ...And then all this earthquake and stuff happened and I thought, 'Is that Karma, when you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?''
Immediately after the comments, the Chinese bloggers and newspapers were very upset with her and demanded an apology. Last month, Stone issued a public apology and said that she misspoke and regretted that she made those statements.
But the Chinese are not satisfied with the apology: about 1,000 Chinese earthquake victims have banded together with a New York lawyer Ming Hai, demanding a $1 billion in damages.
Ming said in a statement:
"For the families who have lost their loved ones or lost limbs or suffered severe injuries, your statement and act has caused extreme emotional distress."
In April, two Chinese women also sued CNN for $1 billion -- a dollar for every Chinese person after CNN anchor Jack Cafferty said on live television that China is led by a bunch of goons and thugs.
I doubt either of the lawsuits will get the Chinese any money, but their future businesses and appearances with China will be affected in a large scale.
-- Digital Journal
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2 comments:
yes, emotional lost is always hard to prove.
Yeah, it was very insensative of her to say something so hurtful, especially when they have just lost their loved ones.
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