>>
with a film that sparked anti-american protests in the
muslim world
. first nbc's
mike taibbi
has details. good morning to you.
>> reporter:
actor
cindy
lee
garcia
's lawyer also went to court to try to get
youtube
and its parent company google to take down the 14-minute video. a california judge said no citing federal internet laws, and in practical terms any video that's gone viral is all over the internet. this one did with disastrous consequences that aren't over yet.
cindy
lee
garcia
is just one of several dozen actors and extras who in the summer of
2011
trooped to a
shopping mall
east of
los angeles
. they were going to make a movie they say was called "desert warrior."
>>
based on an
adventure film
in the desert 2,000 years ago, and during the time i was being filmed in my part there was nothing mentioned about
muhammad
.
>> reporter:
last week
garcia
sued the man she named as the film's producer, nakoula bassely nakoula for fraud and intent of
emotional distress
.
>>
do you have any regrets about producing the film?
>> reporter:
after leaving his home to voluntarily speak to police nakoula went into hiding and was not served with a complaint and
garcia
requested google and
youtube
take down the video because of what she calls cred ubl
death threats
that have put her life into serious danger but was denied by a judge citing internet laws.
>>
under
federal law
youtube
is a
service provider
which is immune from liability if it is not providing the couldn't tent that is uploaded on to the site.
>> reporter:
google did not respond to our request for comment, but
garcia
's attorney says her complaint will be re-filed before a different judge. how will a public lawsuit and
garcia
's public statements impact her safety?
>>
she has in fact made herself much more of a public figure indeed, potentially much more of a target in all senses of the world.
>> reporter:
now an attorney for four of the other actors told nbc news last night that they plan to file their own lawsuit this week but not against google. it's a suit alleging fraud and infliction of
emotional distress
against nakoula or anyone else they could name who knew what the video was intended to be.
>>
mike taibbi
, thank you.
cindy
lee
garcia
is here with us exclusively along with her attorney. good morning to both of you.
>>
good morning.
>>
cindy
, i know you're very concerned about your safety. you've received
death threats
. is that still continuing?
>>
yes, it is.
>>
what kind of safety precautions are you taking?
>>
right now i'm just, you know, very cautious of my surroundings, and i've taken all my information away from the public.
>>
are you worried that by coming forward in this public way you'll make yourself more recognizable?
>>
i'm coming forward to clear my name. i was duped. i went in to do this film called "desert warrior."
muhammad
was never mentioned, muslims were never mentioned.
>>
you thought it was an movie about what?
>>
an
adventure film
in the desert 2,000 years ago about the way life was back then.
>>
when you saw the finished product and you say that another voice was dubbed over with these offensive remarks, what was your reaction?
>>
when i first saw the trailer, i saw all these things in the trail their were not filmed when i was on the set, so i was confused, and then when i saw myself on there, i knew that it was the actual film but there were other words put in my mouth. i was devastated.
>>
to be clear, this does not reflect your views of the muslim faith.
>>
absolutely not. i would not do that.
>>
some people would wonder how it is that you could be an actor in a film and not know what the film was about.
>>
when i received on set they gave me three or four pages, two for the first day, two for the second day and i asked him why. they said they in the process of getting them together.
>>
did you sign any agreement that would have permitted the film-makers to take these liberties to dub over your voice?
>>
no, no, i read the contract.
>>
you met this producer, known to you as sam bacile, apparently also known as nakoula bassely nakoula. did anything about him set off alarm bells about you?
>>
no. actually he seemed very polite. he was very boastful about the fact that he had written the script that i had that's totally different on the --
>>
did he give any indication about the views he apparently holds about the muslim faith?
>>
no. no one spoke of the muslim faith, no one spoke of
muhammad
, nor would i ever do that.
>>
let me talk to your lawyer. you've filed a lawsuit against
youtube
for basically putting this on the internet as well as the producers. the lawsuit does not appear to have a great chance of success because of a
federal law
. it basically immunizes these third-party providers. do you continue to -- do you plan to continue to press this suit?
>>
no, i think that's correct. i think congress has passed a law that does in fact have a very good chance of immunizing google and
youtube
, but i think we should be very clear that google and
youtube
are doing the wrong thing. in fact, they say in their own terms and guidelines that
hate speech
is not allowed. how can this not be
hate speech
? how can this not be wrong, morally, intellectually, legally, and so today we will dismiss the
state court
lawsuit, but we're going to file again today in
federal court
.
>>
because you think you have a copyright claim?
>>
absolutely. my client has a copyright claim and we intend to enforce it.
>>
thank you both for being here. appreciate it.
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