Highlights
- Matt LeBlanc faced controversy and lawsuits after his success on Friends, including a lawsuit with his manager over unfair profit division and another for defamation.
- LeBlanc took a break from Hollywood after Friends and Joey, experiencing a dark time and almost having a nervous breakdown.
- LeBlanc eventually made a comeback with projects like Episodes and Top Gear, but faced legal issues with his former manager and allegations of defamation.
For over a decade, Matt LeBlanc was TV royalty thanks to his success on Friends, and later, he enjoyed two extra years on the spin-off Joey. Despite his Hollywood success, LeBlanc faced a lot of controversy in the past. David Schwimmer had to defend LeBlanc during his interview with Howard Stern after the host questioned if Matt was out of control behind the camera given stories that were surfacing about the actor's party lifestyle at the time.
In the following, we're going to put the spotlight on LeBlanc's life behind the scenes, and the multiple lawsuits he faced after Friends. One of them was with his own manager after it was deemed that the profits from his gigs weren't divided fairly.
We're going to reveal what went down, while also showcasing yet another lawsuit that took place, this one instead was for defamation. According to the lawsuit, LeBlanc was spreading false stories to the National Enqurier. Let's take a look at what went down.
Matt LeBlanc Put His Agent On Mute Following His Time On Friends And The Spin-Off, Joey
From 1994 up until 2006, Matt LeBlanc had a packed TV schedule. He was on Friends for a decade, while he enjoyed two extra seasons on the spin-off, Joey.
Following Joey's cancelation, Matt LeBlanc decided to make a change. Instead of searching for the next project, he didn't want to know anything about Hollywood. In fact, the actor wanted his agent to lose his number. At that point, LeBlanc's only focus was to take time away. The actor didn't want a schedule and at the time he barely went out.
He revealed, "For years and years, I barely left the house. I was burnt out. I wanted to not have a schedule, not be somewhere. I was in a position to do that. My agent was bummed. Most actors call their agents and say, ‘What’s going on?’. I’d call mine and say, ‘Please lose my number for a few years’. It was a very dark time. I almost had a nervous breakdown," LeBlanc tells CinemaBlend.
The actor ultimately made a return in a major way, appearing on the TV series Episodes, which was a major project while he also took on Top Gear. LeBlanc pounced when the moment was right and in truth, he had more than enough funds to take that time off. However, he did encounter some problems during that time.
Camille Cerio Sued Matt LeBlanc Over Breach Of Contract Over Her Commissions
According to Camille Cerio, LeBlanc promised 15% of all his pilots. When 2000 came around, those payments stopped taking place. LeBlanc denied the allegations, making the claim that he was paying the manager $200,000 in commissions.
Business Insider detailed both sides of the story.
The publication writes, "Former FRIENDS star MATT LeBLANC is heading to court after allegedly failing to pay his former business manager $1 million (GBP500,000). Camille Cerio is suing the actor for breach of contract and claims he owes her commission for managing his career."
"LeBlanc maintains he has paid Cerio more than $200,000 (GBP100,000) in payments, but in a lawsuit filed at Los Angeles Superior Court earlier this month (2Jul08), Cerio claims the amount is nothing compared to his royalties from Friends and spin-off Joey. Cerio claims that LeBlanc agreed to cut her 15 percent from all the pilots, but stopped paying her in 2000."
A court date was set for the fall of 2020. In terms of a verdict, it doesn't seem like anything came of it. Two things likely took place, either Cerio's evidence wasn't sufficient, which caused the case to collapse. Or, the lawsuit was taken care of outside of court, and LeBlanc's team paid the manager what was owed.
Matt LeBlanc Was Also Sued For Defamation By Stephanie Stephens Over Comments That Were Published By The National Enquirer
Years prior in 2006, LeBlanc faced yet another lawsuit, but this was for different reasons unrelated. Stephanie Stephens stepped up and sued LeBlanc for defamation. According to the lawsuit, LeBlanc had spread false news about Stephens to the National Enquirer.
"Stephanie Stephens claims in a lawsuit that LeBlanc told an unspecified person last August that she was sexually aggressive, gave him a lap dance in a private room and engaged him in a "night of sexual debauchery ... at her place of employment," Today writes.
Stephens completely denied the claims stating that she wasn't aggressive towards LeBlanc, and never gave the Friends star a lap dance at the time.
LeBlanc's team didn't comment on the matter and once again, the allegations disappeared without any type of public verdict. It is very possible that this lawsuit didn't get very far. Nonetheless, it was another headache for Matt and his team post-Friends.
SOURCES - Today & Business Insider
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