The comic has denied that anything wrong happened between him and Monika Zsibrita, but the dispute triggered a paternity test, the involvement of jailed PI Anthony Pellicano and perhaps the filthiest lawsuit ever.
Chris Rock has reached a confidential settlement to end a lawsuit that involves a Hungarian model, paternity, Anthony Pellicano and a Kleenex tissue kept in a freezer.
The legal claim was filed by Monika Zsibrita in Los Angeles Superior Court.
She brought a paternity action against Rock more than a decade ago, but DNA tests showed that
he was not the father of her daughter. Nevertheless, according to a later lawsuit that was
first filed as Jane Doe v. John Doe to keep secrets, Rock and Zsibrita executed a
confidentiality agreement to cover up what allegedly happened in 1998 in a Four Seasons hotel
in Beverly Hills.
According to Zsibrita, Rock attacked her and attempted to force her to perform oral sex on him.
A week later, the two went out on another date, and there allegedly was forced intercourse. In
the pleadings, Rock denied all allegations of rape and other wrongdoing.
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Zsibrita became pregnant and believed the child to be Rock's, but the paternity test said it
wasn't. During the paternity proceeding, Rock hired Pellicano, and Zsibrita reported that her
house was broken into and pictures of her daughter were taken.
The two sides agreed to confidentiality, but that started to unravel when Rock appeared on the
Howard Stern radio show, saying that he was scammed, that he was approached by a woman saying
she was a big fan, that he forgot to wear a condom, that a Nigerian got her pregnant and that
it was all a setup.
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Also, during the Pellicano wiretapping trial, Rock took the stand and reportedly admitted
hiring Pellicano to investigate Zsibrita.
These disclosures allegedly violated the confidentiality agreement between Rock and Zsibrita.
So she sued him (as well as Pellicano, Pacific Bell Telephone Co. and police officials),
originally for breach of written contract, intrusion, invasion of privacy, wiretapping,
trespass and more.
The complaint was incredibly salacious. For instance, after Rock allegedly raped her, Zsibrita
said that she kept a Kleenex tissue of his sperm.
The lawsuit also raised doubts about some of the tests. A blood test of both Rock and Zsibrita
was said to have been performed "under peculiar circumstances" and that an attorney
"prematurely jumped out of [a] car to deliver the blood samples to the lab, thus destroying the
chain of control and authenticity so that Plaintiff's attorney could ensure there was no
tampering of the samples."
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The complaint also included discussions between Pellicano and Rock in which the comedian
allegedly admitted that he used a condom with her and that it could have contained his DNA.
Pellicano also allegedly told Rock what Zsibrita had discussed with the police, including that
she had kept the Kleenex in a freezer.
After the lawsuit was filed, Rock argued that it should be dismissed because, among other
things, it was filed too late to be within the statute of limitations. A judge threw out 12 of
the 13 claims on summary judgment but allowed the breach of contract action to survive.
Rock never has been charged with a crime and has denied that a rape ever occurred.
A notice of settlement was filed this week in court. Terms aren't known. Brian Wolf at Lavely &
Singer, who represented Rock, tells The Hollywood Reporter that the dispute has been "resolved
amicably."
Neville Johnson represented the plaintiff in the case.
E-mail: eriq.gardner@thr.com; Twitter: @eriqgardner
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