Hunter Biden is accusing Fox News in a lawsuit of distributing “revenge porn” by broadcasting nude images of him as part of a miniseries that was available on the conservative outlet’s streaming service, Fox Nation.
Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, claims in his complaint, filed Sunday, that Fox violated the state of New York’s revenge-porn statute, which criminalizes publishing intimate images of a person without their consent.
“In addition to the unlawful commercial exploitation of Mr. Biden’s image, name, and likeness, ‘The Trial of Hunter Biden’ unlawfully publishes numerous intimate images (both still and video) of Mr. Biden depicting him in the nude, depicting an unclothed or exposed intimate part of him, as well as engaged in sex acts,” the suit states.
It continues: “Fox published and disseminated these intimate images to its vast audience of millions as part of an entertainment program in order to humiliate, harass, annoy, and alarm Mr. Biden and to tarnish his reputation.”
Fox aired “The Trial of Hunter Biden: A Mock Trial for the American People” on its Fox Nation streaming platform in October 2022.
The network took the program down earlier this year, but the suit states Fox has not yet removed promotional reels and clips, and that its series remains accessible on third-party streaming platforms.
Biden also accuses the network of unjust enrichment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In a statement, Fox called the suit “entirely politically motivated” and “devoid of merit.”
“The core complaint stems from a 2022 streaming program that Mr. Biden did not complain about until sending a letter in late April 2024,” a network rep said. “The program was removed within days of the letter, in an abundance of caution, but Hunter Biden is a public figure who has been the subject of multiple investigations and is now a convicted felon. Consistent with the First Amendment, FOX News has accurately covered the newsworthy events of Mr. Biden’s own making, and we look forward to vindicating our rights in court.”
Biden was found guilty on federal charges last month of lying about his drug use to obtain a firearm, a felony. He is appealing.
He is also facing a trial over federal tax-related charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Reuters and Gary Grumbach contributed.
