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Melania Trump Threatens to Sue Over ‘False’ Autism Video About Her Son Barron

Rachel StockmanNov 28th, 2016, 5:54 pm
 

First Lady-elect Melania Trump has threatened to sue over a YouTube video accusing her son, Barron Trump, of being autistic. 

LawNewz.com has confirmed that she’s asked for the video to be removed and has demanded an apology from the person who posted it.  The video, which has been viewed more than 3 million times, purports to raise awareness about autism, and claims that Barron exhibits some telltale signs.

Melania Trump’s attorney, Charles Harder, sent LawNewz.com the following statement:

This law firm represents First Lady-elect Melania Trump and her 10-year-old son, Barron Trump.  A video was posted at YouTube recently speculating that Barron might be autistic.  He is not.  The video includes the hashtag “StopTheBullying” but yet the video itself is bullying by making false statements and speculation about a 10-year old boy for the purpose of harassing him and his parents.  The online bullying of children, including Barron Trump, should end now.

As of Monday afternoon, the video was still up:

The video gained more attention after Trump’s longtime foe, Rosie O’Donnell, tweeted the video out, questioning whether 10-year old Barron was autistic. “If so – what an amazing opportunity to bring attention to the AUTISM epidemic,” she tweeted last Tuesday.

The youtube poster, James Hunter, released a statement to our sister site, Gossip Cop, that said that he was on the autism spectrum himself, was trying to raise awareness and never meant to bully Barron.

“I’m honestly kinda scared right now. The only reason I made the video is because I saw how much social media was bullying Barron Trump, and I wanted it to stop. I’d be really sad if I’ve made the situation worse, but I never could’ve imagined that the video would get so much press,” Hunter said.

Harder also represented Hulk Hogan in his now famous suit against defunct Gawker.com. He’s been retained by Melania on other legal matters as well including her dispute with People Magazine. 

This story has been updated with a comment from the youtube poster. 

[image via screengrab]

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Rachel Stockman is President of Law&Crime which includes Law&Crime Productions, Law&Crime Network and LawAndCrime.com. Under her watch, the company has grown from just a handful of people to a robust production company and network producing dozens of true crime shows a year in partnership with major networks. She also currently serves as Executive Producer of Court Cam, a hit show on A&E, and I Survived a Crime, a new crime show premiering on A&E this fall. She also oversees production of a new daily syndicated show Law&Crime Daily, which is produced in conjunction with Litton Entertainment. In addition to these shows, her network and production company produce programs for Facebook Watch, Cineflix and others. She has spent years covering courts and legal issues, and was named Atlanta Press Club's 'Rising Star' in 2014. Rachel graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and Yale Law School.

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