Ex slams Lopez

2009-11-11 14:21

Los Angeles - Jennifer Lopez's first husband accused the actor on Tuesday of interfering in his life by going to court to block a movie he has made, which she claims shows video of their honeymoon and their sex life.

Ojani Noa, a chef and former model who was married to Lopez for less than 11 months, said he was unhappy at a judge's temporary restraining order banning distribution of the movie and requiring the material be turned over to Lopez's lawyers.

Last week, Lopez filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles to put a halt to Noa's How I Married Jennifer Lopez: The JLo and Ojani Noa Story, claiming it violated an agreement between them in which he agreed not to disclose private information about her.

Lopez, now married to singer Marc Anthony, also sued in 2006 to stop publication of a book by Noa and won a $545 000 judgment for breach of contract.

"I can't allow her to keep me from having closure in my life and to move on," Noa told reporters after the restraining order was granted, extended from a previous ruling.

Public image

He said the film project would primarily be about his life as a Cuban immigrant in America and less about his relationship with the Maid in Manhattan star.

But Lopez said in a sworn court statement that she fears the videos and film would damage her public image.

"I strongly believe... that the motion picture will contain false and defamatory comments about (me) and depictions of me and statements attributable to me that I never said," Lopez said in the statement.

Lopez had previously said in her lawsuit that the movie contained footage in sexual situations, including their time in a hotel room during their 1997 honeymoon.

Filmmaker Ed Meyer, described in court papers as Noa's manager and producer of the movie, said claims about the existence of sex tapes are a "smokescreen".

"Noa has a story that needs to be told and then let the public decide," Meyer said.

Lopez is seeking $10m in damages, as well as a ban on the release of any intimate video of the couple. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Calfant will hold another hearing on December 1 on the matter.

- Reuters