Kings forward Richaun Holmes sues Sacramento newspaper and his ex-wife for defamation

Richaun Holmes, a forward on the Sacramento Kings, is suing local newspaper The Sacramento Bee for defamation over publishing allegations of domestic and child abuse made by his ex-wife.

According to a spokesperson for Holmes, he is suing The Bee’s parent company McClatchy Co., opinion writer Robin Epley and his ex-wife Allexis Holmes.  

To prosecute the case, Richaun Holmes hired Camille Vasquez – who previously represented actor Johnny Depp in his lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard. 

Vasquez helped Depp win a $10.35m settlement in June in a defamation case against Heard through claims of domestic abuse made in the Washington Post. 

‘Mr. Holmes is seeking damages for the defamatory content in multiple articles published by The Bee from March – May 2022,’ Holmes’ spokesperson said.

Sacramento Kings forward Richaun Holmes is suing the Sacramento Bee and his ex-wife

‘Across five individual articles, the defendants intentionally, and maliciously, published claims of child and domestic abuse by Mr. Holmes despite easily accessible evidence to the contrary via public court filings. 

‘By awarding sole custody of RJ to the father, an extremely rare legal decision, courts in both CA and GA affirmed Mr. Holmes as the capable parent.’

The statement continued, saying, ‘Not only did The Bee and Epley have evidence to disprove their reporting, they were given numerous opportunities to correct it and declined to do so. 

‘Holmes is suing for damages which encompass the impact their actions have had on his reputation, personal brand, and goodwill in the community as a player for the Kings and NBA, along with emotional suffering, distress, and potential income associated with lost projects as a result of the coordinated effort by the three parties to publish knowingly false accusations of abuse by Mr. Holmes in the The Sacramento Bee.’

According to the 28-page lawsuit, which was filed in the Sacramento Superior Court on Wednesday, Allexis was in a custody battle with Richaun over their son last year and Richaun claims Allexis ‘attempted to turn the tides’ of the battle by saying he ‘was abusive to her and to their son.’

Allexis and Richaun divorced in 2019.

Richaun was given custody of his son in April by the Los Angeles Superior Court and is said to be ‘now thriving and healthy,’ the lawsuit says. 

According to US law, Holmes would need to prove the Bee committed ‘actual malice’ in order to receive damages.

Established in the Supreme Court landmark case New York Times v. Sullivan, ‘actual malice’ occurs when a defendant (in this case, The Bee) publishes information with the knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not. 

Johnny Depp’s former attorney Camille Vasquez will represent Holmes in the defamation case

Vasquez said Holmes – who won custody of his child – is a ‘devoted father, son, and teammate’ 

Vasquez released a statement as well, saying ‘all available remedies’ will be pursued for her client.

‘These actions were a coordinated and malicious effort to deliberately defame Mr. Holmes – a devoted father, son, and teammate. 

‘We will pursue all available remedies to rebuild from the damage that The Sacramento Bee, Epley, and Ms. Holmes have inflicted on Mr. Holmes. 

‘Despite the publicly available court decisions disproving each of these allegations, this narrative will have a lasting impact on Mr. Holmes’ life and career. 

‘Mr. Holmes will continue to be the outstanding father, player, and community member he always has been, and we look forward to this matter being resolved.’

DailyMail.com has reached out to McClatchy Co. for comment. 

Holmes missed the remainder of the Kings’ season upon the news of the alleged claims. This season, he has played only played a total of 34 games, averaging a mere 8.7 minutes and 3.2 points per game.