Entertainment

South Florida Officers Sue Over Affleck and Damon Film ‘The Rip’

Two South Florida police sergeants have filed a defamation lawsuit claiming the action thriller The Rip used excessive real-life details from an actual police investigation, damaging their personal and professional reputations.

Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana, both members of the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, filed the suit earlier this month in federal court in Miami against Artists Equity, the production company owned by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

Court filings do not specify the amount of damages sought, but the officers are requesting compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees, and a public correction and retraction.

“The Rip” stars Affleck and Damon as South Florida police officers who discover millions of dollars hidden inside a house. The film reportedly draws partial inspiration from a real 2016 case in which law enforcement uncovered more than $21 million tied to an alleged marijuana trafficker at a home in Miami Lakes.

While promoting the film, Affleck and Damon said the project was loosely based on stories shared by Chris Casiano, who served as a technical adviser during production.

In an interview earlier this year, Damon said he and Affleck spent time with narcotics officers to better understand the realities of their work.

“We really wanted to understand what those dynamics were like,” Damon told The Associated Press. “These units are very tight because they’re really putting their lives in each other’s hands.”

An attorney representing Artists Equity declined to comment publicly on the lawsuit. However, in a response to a demand letter sent by the officers, attorney Leita Walker argued that the film does not claim to portray real individuals or provide a factual retelling of the events, noting that a disclaimer to that effect appears in the film’s credits.

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