Trigger Warning: This article contains a discussion of sexual assault allegations.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has been in the headlines. Unfortunately, Taylor Frankie Paul’s canceled season of The Bachelorette has dominated the news cycle. And now Marciano Brunette is firing back in court at SLOMW star Demi Engemann.
Demi met Marciano during a Vanderpump Villa crossover. She visited Castello Rosato with some of her co-stars. While she flirted with Marciano, what happened next isn’t clear. Demi accused Marciano of “unwanted touch.” Then, Marciano sued Demi for defamation, alleging that she falsely called him a “sexual predator” and damaged his reputation.
Demi Engemann supposedly admitted to lying about a storyline
According to Marciano’s original court filing, Demi allegedly “reframed the obviously consensual interaction as one of sexual misconduct and then as sexual assault.” Meanwhile, Demi asked a judge to toss the case, reportedly calling it a “sham.”
In addition, Demi’s legal team claimed that Marciano filed the lawsuit “solely to gain media attention.” She also claimed that he wanted to “punish” her for “exercising her First Amendment right to speak out concerning [Marciano’s] misconduct.”
Recently, TMZ reviewed legal documents filed by Marciano. In his court documents, Marciano claimed that Demi discussed suggesting a fake storyline for SLOMW. This idea was a faux romance with Taylor’s ex-boyfriend and baby daddy, Dakota Mortensen. She reportedly proposed the storyline to make SLOMW less “boring.”
However, the Vanderpump Villa star stated that producers passed on the idea. Still, Marciano alleged that this action showed that Demi was aware of the producers’ “appetite for salacious content and was happy to fabricate stories to satisfy it.” Previously, several SLOMW cast members accused Demi of attempting to fake an affair. Of course, Demi responded on social media. According to Demi, all the cast members proposed “a bunch of ideas” for a Season 1 cliffhanger, and she was just taking part in the discussion.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is now streaming on Hulu.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or access RAINN’s online chat service.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK MARCIANO HAS A STRONG CASE AGAINST DEMI FOR DEFAMATION? SHOULD DEMI RETURN TO SLOMW?
