Leonardo DiCaprio to Testify in Lawsuit Against “The Wolf of Wall Street”

A judge has ordered “The Wolf of Wall Street,” aka Leonardo DiCaprio, to testify in a lawsuit against the filmmakers of the 2013 movie. You might think it would be flattering to have a character featured in a movie with one of the biggest stars of today based off of you, but businessman Andrew Greene claims that it portrayed him as a “criminal, a drug user and a degenerate.” Now he wants $25 million in damages.

@BBCWorld @LeoDiCaprio
Is he going to be questioned about The Titanic sinking as well?

— Paul_Ed (@eddo75) June 17, 2016

Greene is the former executive at the brokerage firm the film depicts, Stratton Oakmont, portrayed through the character Nicky “Rugrat” Koskoff, the guy with the bad toupee. DiCaprio plays the main character, Jordan Belfort, who founded Stratton Oakmont and made a fortune by defrauding investors.

Greene initially sued Paramount Pictures for over $50 million in 2014. Paramount claims that Koskoff, played by P.J. Byrne, is a mashup of multiple people and that Greene is just one of them. The hairpiece played a role in many jokes in both the movie and in Belfort’s memoir that the movie is based on.

Oh, it's not even about Jordan Belfort. It's about how Nicky Koskoff was portrayed to look bad in the film lol. pic.twitter.com/7BDABHMzRF

— Tea Lizard (@brettSTYX) June 17, 2016

The judge rejected Greene’s claims of defamation, but allowed him to change his suit to malicious libel. The plaintiff’s side wanted DiCaprio to testify since he played a big part in the production of the movie, but he has so far been “too busy.” The defendants claim that the accounts of director Martin Scorsese and screenwriter Terence Winter should be enough. They have also argued that DiCaprio didn’t have any means of controlling other actors’ performances.

.@LeoDiCaprio is being asked to testify against the creators of Wolf of Wall Street in a defamation case. #9Today https://t.co/98ZIaOo6OA

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) June 15, 2016

But the judge sided with the plaintiffs, and has now ordered DiCaprio to court. However, the orders are vague, stating he should show up for his testimony “at a reasonable time and place agreed to by the parties.”

The real “Wolf of Wall Street,” Jordan Belfort, spent 22 months in prison for money laundering and fraud. He went on to write his biography and is still paying off debts to the victims of his financial schemes.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.