The lawsuit against Chris Brown over his recent sexual assault allegations has taken a familiar turn, as Brown's defense lawyer, Mark Geragos, claims that the entire lawsuit is just a plot to get millions out of the singer.
In an interview with TMZ yesterday, Geragos claimed that the press conference that the alleged victim and women's right attorney Gloria Allred only happened because Geragos told them to "pound sand," after they demanded $17 million from Brown.
After being asked if the demands for a $17 million payout "or else" were true, Geragos replies, "Correct, or else. This is the else. Welcome to America in 2018."
"In another era, we might have called this a shakedown," Geragos continues.
He also claims that the LAPD has already investigated these claims, and that they didn't find any criminal wrongdoing, and that he and Allred had already secretly mediated the case and determined that the allegations were false. He says that Brown is a frequent target of false criminal charges, alluded to the "great monkey caper of 2017" as an example.
Allred later responded to Geragos' claims, saying that a mediator had spent hours interviewing the victim and found her credible. She also says that Geragos and Brown never showed up to any mediation, and thus the claims of a $17 million payday are completely false. She adds, "Be prepared Mark. We have our evidence and all that you appear to have is a statement that you and I mediated which is completely false."
Geragos will be visiting TMZ Live sometime today to further expand on his and Brown's side of the story.