Steve Wynn Settles Defamation Lawsuit With Attorney Lisa Bloom

Posted on: May 23, 2022, 08:51h. 

Last updated on: May 23, 2022, 09:02h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More

Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Steve Wynn has agreed to drop his defamation lawsuit against high-profile attorney Lisa Bloom.

Wynn, 80, filed a lawsuit against Bloom and The Bloom Firm in April of 2018. The lawsuit came a month after the #MeToo attorney issued a press release with unsubstantiated allegations from a former performer at Wynn Las Vegas.

Bloom’s client, Angelina Mullins, claimed that the billionaire casino magnate ordered performers in “Steve Wynn’s ShowStoppers” cabaret to strip down to their underwear while he attended rehearsals.

“ShowStoppers,” which closed in 2016, was not a nude or partially-nude performance. The production was instead a mashup of famous Broadway musical hits from such productions as One, A Chorus Line, and Chicago.

Mullins, as reported by Bloom, alleged that she was subjected to “unprofessional, demeaning, and sexually objectifying demands.”

Every single time Mr. Wynn came to rehearsal, Ms. Mullins was to strip down to a bra and ‘booty shorts’ or panties, freshen her makeup, and wear high-heels,” Bloom’s press release declared.

Bloom’s statement of allegations made in March of 2018 came just two months after The Wall Street Journal’s career-ending expose on Wynn and his decades of alleged sexual misconduct. Wynn has consistently denied ever acting inappropriately with Wynn Resorts workers. But he nonetheless resigned and sold off his entire stake in the casino company by February of that year.

Bloom is the only child of famed civil rights attorney Gloria Allred.

Lawsuit Settled

Attorneys representing Wynn accused Bloom of issuing a false press release with damning claims against their client. Wynn sought $75,000 in damages and a full retraction of the claims. The billionaire said he never made such demands to Mullins or any other “ShowStoppers” performer.

A Nevada District Court judge ruled in 2019 that Wynn’s defamation case had merit and should proceed. Bloom’s appeals to have the case dismissed were unsuccessful.

That led to the two parties settling their differences out of court. In a filing made on May 19, 2022, Wynn and Bloom attorneys said an agreement had been reached.

All claims brought by all parties in the above entitled action shall be dismissed, with prejudice, with each party to bear its own attorneys’ fees and costs,” the court filing explained.

Todd Bice, one of Wynn’s attorneys, told Bloomberg Law that Bloom will issue a statement acknowledging “a retraction of the defamatory statement” within five days.

Federal Case Ongoing

It’s been more than four years since Steve Wynn’s reputation was forever tarnished with sexual wrongdoing allegations. Since then, despite the billionaire seeking to live a life out of the public eye, courts continue to keep his name in the news.

The federal agency alleges that the casino tycoon used his close relationship with President Donald Trump to pressure the Trump administration to deport a Chinese dissident back to the People’s Republic. Though the effort was unsuccessful, as the Chinese man was permitted to remain in the US, the DOJ under President Joe Biden argues that Wynn should be forced to register as a foreign agent.

Wynn has close ties with Chinese leaders because of Wynn Resorts’ properties in Macau. Wynn attorneys say he has “never acted as an agent of the Chinese government,” and therefore has no obligation to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.