Val Chmerkovskiy is under fire for mocking a child with down syndrome. The Dancing With the Stars pro is sued for allegedly sharing an offensive meme on his social media account.
Hollywood site People reported that the family of the child who became the center of the offensive meme is suing Chmerkovskiy for $6 million.
According to the court papers, Chmerkovskiy shared a meme of a girl who’s drinking a soda captioned with: "Letting your kid become obese should be considered child abuse."
The suit claims that the photo taken in June 2008 during a basketball game was obtained without the family’s consent. The photographer allegedly posted the photo immediately on Flickr with the text that reads: "Everything that's wrong with America."
In 2014, the photo elevated into a subject of mockery and later became a meme.
Chmerkovskiy, according to the suit, helped the image go viral when he allegedly shared it on Facebook in January. The family is also saying that the meme appeared on cbsnews.com.
CBS and the original photographer were also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The mother of the child contacted the DWTS pro and begged him to delete the meme, according to a report from Page Six.
“I couldn’t believe it when I saw it; makes me wonder what kind of people are out there. It makes me sick,” she said.
According to TMZ, the lawsuit is asserting that the reason the girl has weight issues because children with Down Syndrome have an increase likelihood of obesity.
The defendants are being sued for defamation, emotional distress and invasion of privacy.
Chmerkovskiy posted an image on his Instagram account following the lawsuit.
“Worry about your character, not your reputation. Your character is who you are. Your reputation is who people think you are,” reads the post.
There is no word yet from CBS and the original photographer about this issue.
