Mario Lopez reportedly lashed out at former NFL cheerleader Desiree Townsend throughout a latest court docket listening to to request a everlasting restraining order in opposition to her.
The TV persona was sued in June by Townsend over claims of orchestrating a smear marketing campaign in opposition to her when he reposted an previous, humiliating video of her. Townsend is anticipated to take the stand later this week, the place she shall be cross-examined as a part of Lopez’s ongoing effort to safe the restraining order.
Desiree Townsend can be requesting $25 million in her case in opposition to Mario Lopez and has expressed her shock that the actor sought a restraining order.
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The Actor Known as The Cheerleader’ Loopy,’ ‘Unhinged,’ And A ‘Stalker’
In an interview with Radar On-line, Desiree Townsend shared a surprising account of what allegedly unfolded throughout a latest court docket listening to over Mario Lopez’s try and safe a everlasting restraining order in opposition to her.
Townsend and Lopez are at the moment locked in a $25 million defamation battle, which she initiated in June.
In response, Lopez filed for a brief restraining order and appeared in court docket this week in search of to make it everlasting.
Based on Townsend, the whole courtroom turned chaotic when Lopez took the witness stand through the listening to.
She claimed that Lopez “utterly misplaced it” and was screaming, an outburst she mentioned left her feeling threatened and shaken.
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“He screamed, really screamed, on the witness stand,” Townsend recalled to the information outlet. “He was so ‘p-ssed’ as he categorized it that the decide needed to calm him down.”
She additional famous that Lopez “had a full-blown outburst,” including that he referred to as her “loopy,” “unhinged,” and a “stalker.”
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Why Desiree Townsend Filed A Lawsuit In opposition to Mario Lopez
In 2024, Lopez shared a throwback clip of the ex-cheerleader-turned-paralegal on Instagram, sarcastically writing, “There’s gotta be some form of award for this efficiency,” whereas including the hashtags #MethodActor and #OscarWorthy.
Within the over 15-year-old clip, Townsend appeared to slur her speech and dance erratically in entrance of the digicam.
She later defined to an outlet, Inside Version, that her conduct was on account of a uncommon neurological situation, dystonia.
The cheerleader reportedly developed the ailment after taking a seasonal flu shot on the time.
After the video went viral following Lopez’s repost, Townsend filed a lawsuit in opposition to him, accusing the TV host of utilizing a false assertion that severely harmed each her private {and professional} status.
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The Cheerleaders Claimed She Suffered ‘Harassment’ Due To Mario Lopez’s Actions
Based on experiences, Townsend additionally alleged that she suffered “emotional misery” and “on-line harassment” as a result of comment.
She deemed it as dehumanizing and defaming to “a girl residing with a uncommon neurological incapacity.”
“The timing, tone, and scale of the assault assist an inexpensive inference that Lopez is accustomed to deploying reputational warfare as a software of intimidation, notably when going through potential publicity,” Townsend talked about in her lawsuit.
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Mario Lopez Filed For A Restraining Order In opposition to Desiree Townsend After She Served Him Courtroom Papers
As an alternative of sending a course of server alone to ship court docket papers to Lopez, Townsend selected to accompany the server through the supply.
She later shared a video of the tense encounter with Radar On-line, which confirmed her telling a shirtless Lopez, “You have been served” and “See you in court docket” as the method server positioned the paperwork within the entrance yard of his residence.
Lopez, upset by the surprising confrontation at his residence, responded by acquiring a brief restraining order earlier than transferring ahead with a request for a everlasting one.
He claimed in court docket paperwork that he was “harmed” by the interplay with Townsend and that she brought about “chaos and concern for his younger youngsters and members of the family who witnessed the occasion.”
Lopez additionally accused Townsend of escalating the hurt by sharing on social media a video of her serving him, which uncovered his private tackle to the world and positioned him and his household at “danger of additional harassment, public ridicule, and potential bodily hazard.”
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The Cheerleader Says She Was Stunned The Actor Filed A Restraining Order
In her interview with Radar, Townsend additionally revealed that she was shocked by the restraining order and referred to as it a “clickbait tactic” that may in the end “backfire” on Lopez.
“I actually do not perceive what he is pondering,” she informed the information outlet. “He is escalating this right into a public spectacle when it may have been resolved quietly by civil litigation.
The previous cheerleader added, “Submitting for a restraining order seems like a clickbait tactic, and from each a PR and authorized standpoint, it is prone to backfire. Particularly when the very conduct he is calling ‘harassment’ is exactly what he did to me.”
Later this week, Townsend is anticipated to face cross-examination when the listening to for Lopez’s request for a everlasting restraining order resumes.
