Billy Santoro And Hugh Hunter Sued For Defamation After Calling Plaintiff In Lawsuit Against Nica Noelle “Homophobic And Transphobic”
In case you thought the lawsuit against disgraced incest porn director Nica Noelle (legal name Monica Jensen) couldn’t get any better, think again. Today, the plaintiff in the case—who, as you’ll recall, is suing Noelle and Icon Male in federal court for civil violation of the RICO act (for racketeering and corruption), civil fraud, trespassing, infliction of emotional and mental distress, and copyright infringement after Noelle illegally filmed multiple Icon Male porn movies in the plaintiff’s rental home without her consent or knowledge—has amended her lawsuit to add two new defendants and one new count. The new count (which applies to Noelle, Icon, and the two added defendants): Defamation. The two new defendants: Gay porn stars Billy Santoro and Hugh Hunter (legal names William Gray and Fiore Barbini, respectively).
Nica Noelle, Billy Santoro, and Hugh Hunter are accused of defaming the plaintiff Leah Bassett on their social media accounts, and in one of Santoro’s blog posts. Because Santoro and Noelle are both employees of Icon Male, the studio is included as a defendant in the defamation count. Last month, the plaintiff’s attorney warned that a defamation count might be added to the suit, and he’s made good on that promise today.
The amended complaint (read in full below) cites an Instagram post from Noelle in which she says Bassett’s lawsuit against her is motivated by “homophobia and transphobia,” and it also cites a blog post from Santoro titled “Alleged Drug Addicted Gay Porn Blogger Turns His Back On The LGBT Community And Roots For Homophobe!” which was entered into evidence as Exhibit 5:
Santoro’s blog post is a defamatory response to Str8UpGayPorn’s coverage of the lawsuit, and in it, Santoro defames the plaintiff by calling her “viciously homophobic and transphobic.” Santoro, obviously, also defames me and Str8UpGayPorn (I do not do drugs, and I have not turned my back on the LGBT community), but that’s a different defamation lawsuit for a different day. The fact that Str8UpGayPorn’s coverage of the lawsuit provoked a response from Santoro that directly resulted in him being sued for defamation is probably upsetting for Santoro, so he might be better off not looking at Str8UpGayPorn going forward? Just a suggestion.
Gay porn star Hugh Hunter is also being sued for defamation by Bassett, as he tweeted about Santoro’s blog post and added his own commentary. Here’s the tweet that landed Hunter in hot water:
Again, if it weren’t for their responses to Str8UpGayPorn’s coverage of the lawsuit, neither Santoro nor Hunter would be facing a federal lawsuit right now, so this must be very frustrating for them, especially if they’re reading this article right now.
A little bit of fun trivia: This is the second time Hugh Hunter has been named in a federal lawsuit against a porn studio for illegally filming in someone’s rental home, as he was previously named in the “Feces Mansion” lawsuit against Michael Lucas in 2015. That suit was settled out of court, but with Hunter now a defendant being sued for defamation, he might not be as lucky this time around.
Here’s the full amended complaint, with Billy Santoro and Hugh Hunter being added as defendants, and both of them, along with Nica Noelle and Icon Male, being sued for defamation. Be sure to read the plaintiff attorney’s footnotes, as they provide context and backstory, including facts about my coverage of Billy Santoro’s alleged physical violence against his husband Seth Santoro, which has undoubtedly fueled his hatred and defamatory comments about Str8UpGayPorn.
