Stan Lee‘s daughter Joan Celia “J.C.” Lee is suing her father’s former personal assistant for publicly claiming that she had been physically abusive to the late comic book legend.
J.C. is also suing journalist Alan Duke, the host, and creator of the podcast.
Duke didn’t immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment; Herman could not be reached.
The filing also noted claims from J.C. that Herman used to steal from the Marvel mastermind and would forge his signatures in order to get loans, for which he was later allegedly fired in 2018.
Albert L. Ortega/Getty
In the documents, J.C. argues that Herman was only making the statements to get back at her after he was let go from his position.
“At no point in time has [J.C] ever struck or otherwise sought to choke or injure Stan Lee,” her lawyers state in the documents. “[J.C] contends Herman was seeking revenge against [J.C.] and that this motivated him to make the False Statement, knowing and intending the False Statement’s publication in the Podcast would injure, embarrass and otherwise harm [J.C.], cause [J.C.] extreme emotional distress, cause [J.C.] financial injury, and induce the public at large to overlook his own fraudulent and criminal acts.”
“There really isn’t that much drama. As far as I’m concerned, we have a wonderful life,” LeetoldThe Daily Beastin 2018. “I’m pretty damn lucky. I love my daughter, I’m hoping that she loves me, and I couldn’t ask for a better life… I don’t know what this is all about… We have occasional spats. But I have occasional spats with everyone. I’ll probably have one with you, where I’ll be saying, ‘I didn’t say that!’ But, that’s life.”
Joan Celia Lee, Stan Lee.Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
This wasn’t the first time Herman raised concerns about J.C.. In April 2018, he made allegations toThe Hollywood Reporterin a feature story titled, “Stan Lee Needs a Hero: Elder Abuse Claims and a Battle Over the Aging Marvel Creator.”
source: people.com
