According to Yahoo! Finance, a key prosecution witness whose testimony helped convict Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes of fraud, has sued The Walt Disney Company over the recent Hulu miniseries The Dropout, that he says defamed him by portraying him as corrupt.
What’s Happening:
- Adam Rosendorff, a former Theranos lab director, objected in a New York state court filing to a fictional character who held the same job in The Dropout, which starred Amanda Seyfried as Holmes, chronicling her rise and fall at the blood-testing startup.
- Rosendorff said the character, Mark Roessler, covered up Theranos' fraud by ordering the destruction of damaging lab results, falsifying records and engaging in other dishonest and unethical conduct.
- According to Rosendorff, the portrayal has had a "devastating effect" on his reputation and career as a physician because media and even acquaintances have concluded that Roessler was based on him.
- "At the time of the trial, (Rosendorff) was considered a heroic whistle-blower, a witness who was instrumental in the jury’s verdict convicting Holmes," the filing said. "Now he has been falsely portrayed as a perjurer, a criminal, and of being completely unfit to practice his profession."
- Neither Disney or Rosendorff’s lawyer had any additional comment to give.
- Holmes, 39, was found guilty in January 2022 and later sentenced to 11-1/4 years in prison for defrauding investors in Theranos.
- The Dropout premiered on Hulu in March 2022. Check out Luke’s review and recaps of the series.
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