Kim Kardashian isn’t happy that footage of Kanye West‘s proposal to her has hit the Internet. The reality star and her rap star fiance are suing YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley for posting video of the proposal online at his new Internet venture MixBit.
In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Kardashian and West Hurley was not invited to San Francisco’s AT&T Park, where the proposal took place, but rather tagged along with someone who was invited. He was only allowed to stay after allegedly promising both verbally and in a signed confidentiality agreement he would not publish details of the event. Hurley was photographed holding the signed confidentiality agreement, and the photo is included in the suit.
The lawsuit, in which West is also a plaintiff, says Hurley, who sold YouTube to Google for $1.65 billion, was eager to promote his “new but foundering business” and saw the event (which was ostensibly a birthday celebration for Kardashian) as an opportunity he could exploit.
“Hurley is well aware of such contractual restrictions — including not to usurp a person’s right to tell a story on his or her own terms, and for his or her own emotional and financial benefit,” the suit reads.
The suit says footage from the event was intended for MC Cable Television, which is an arm of Bunim/Murray and Keeping Up with the Kardashians broadcaster E!
“Nevertheless, Hurley proceeded to try to turn the event into one starring himself, broadcasting the images he knew were the exclusive property rights of someone else,” the suit reads.
It says Hurley tweeted about the proposal to his Twitter followers — he has more than 500,000 — and issued a press release as if he were a rep for West and Kardashian. The suit says that as entertainers, West and Kardashian “often sell the rights to filmed events,” which have value because they are exclusive and not available to others.
The lawsuit charges Hurley with breach of written contract, fraud by way of false promise and unjust enrichment. West and Kardashian are seeking damages and disgorgement of all benefits Hurley received from exploiting the video footage.
A rep for Hurley’s MixBit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
