LOS ANGELES, CA (August 23, 2025) — Actor James W. Hunter has filed a sweeping defamation lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Rolling Stone Media LLC, its parent company Penske Media Corporation, journalist Cheyenne Roundtree, the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, and several attorneys and industry figures, alleging a coordinated effort to destroy his career. According to your documents obtained by WMV, Hunter, who is representing himself, claims the defendants orchestrated a campaign of false reporting, misrepresentation, and the misuse of expunged legal records in order to discredit him during ongoing litigation with film studio A24 Films, director Ti West, and actress Mia Goth.
The lawsuit follows an article published by Rolling Stone on August 22, 2024, under the headline “‘MaXXXine’ Actor Suing Mia Goth for Battery Has Checkered Legal Past.” Written by Roundtree, the piece detailed Hunter’s ongoing $500,000 lawsuit against Goth, Ti West, and A24, which stemmed from his allegation that Goth deliberately kicked him in the head during the filming of the horror movie MaXXXine in April 2023. The article portrayed Hunter as a man with a troubled past, pointing to civil disputes with an ex-girlfriend and her stepfather in which he was described as a “vexatious litigant,” a 2015 theft case in which he was sentenced to probation and ten days in county jail for an alleged rent scam, and a restraining order granted against him in 2022 by a former girlfriend who accused him of stalking and harassment. The article also noted Hunter’s involvement in multiple lawsuits, including a $2 million claim he filed against his ex-girlfriend’s stepfather.
In addition to its account of Hunter’s legal entanglements, the Rolling Stone article included quotes from casting agent Jeff Olan, who questioned Hunter’s version of events on the MaXXXine set, as well as unnamed production sources who said no one witnessed the alleged kicking incident and who only learned of it when Hunter filed his lawsuit. A24 dismissed Hunter’s claims as “baseless,” pledging to defend Goth and the filmmaking team. Hunter, however, insisted to Rolling Stone during a lengthy phone call that the kick had taken place, that he continued to suffer long-term health effects, and that the publication appeared intent on producing a “hit piece.”
In his 46-page complaint, Hunter, who played a background actor in the film. charges the defendants with libel, false light invasion of privacy, aiding and abetting defamation, civil conspiracy, concert of action, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He argues that the central purpose of the Rolling Stone article was to discredit him in the eyes of the court and the industry at large.
He takes particular issue with the way the piece characterized his 2015 case, which he says was misrepresented. According to Hunter, he never pled guilty to theft by false pretenses, his ten-day jail term was suspended, and he was instead ordered to complete 480 hours of community service, which he fulfilled. The matter, he notes, was fully expunged and sealed in 2018 by the Superior Court of California, and by omitting these details, Rolling Stone knowingly published a distorted and damaging version of his past.
The complaint names Rolling Stone and Penske Media as publishers of the piece, Roundtree as the author, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP as the law firm allegedly coordinating with the magazine on behalf of A24 and Goth, attorneys Emilio Gonzalez and Stephen Franz as active participants in the dissemination of defamatory material, and Olan as a source who contributed to what Hunter argues was a campaign to undermine him. The filing also includes “Does 1–100,” a reference to unidentified individuals or entities whom Hunter believes may also have played a role in the alleged conspiracy.
