LOS ANGELES — In December 2016, Nikki Benz claimed in a series of statements on Twitter that she had been abused during an BDSM shoot for the company Mindgeek, and that her consent had been violated repeatedly during filming by director Tony T. Raw footage from the set did not back up any of her claims, however, and none of the on-set crew witnessed anything that would corroborate her story.

After first promising to explain, Nikki Benz refused to speak additionally about the initial claims. Facing a barrage of negative attention in the press, Mindgeek terminated Tony’s contract. Mindgeek’s actions worked to confirm Benz’s claims, and further damaged his reputation, leaving him not only without a contract, but largely unemployable in the adult industry. With neither Benz nor Mindgeek willing to speak publicly about the demonstrably false allegations, Tony has been forced to respond by filing lawsuits against both Benz and Mindgeek in order to get the facts on record. Mindgeek has been served. The case is set for a case management conference in May 2017 in Los Angeles.

At the May 16 hearing, counsel for Tony plans to ask for a two-week jury trial. Discovery hasn’t started yet in the case, but the trial date should be in early 2018.