Shortly after Ashley Solis went public as the first woman to accuse Deshaun Watson of unwanted sexual acts, the Houston Texans quarterback’s lawyer fired back at claims that she and fellow accusers aren’t going after his money.
Rusty Hardin, Watson’s attorney, said Solis had demanded $100,000 to stay quiet about the allegations.
That information was more than enough for fans to seek out Solis’ on social media and not only harass her, but slander her company.
Rusty Hardin released the following statement after the Buzbee news conference:
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“At a press conference today, attorney Anthony Buzbee introduced the first plaintiff to the media. She identified herself as Ashley Solis. In her remarks, Ms. Solis stated: “People say that I’m doing this just for money. That is false.”
Mr. Buzbee himself repeatedly claimed that the litigation he filed on behalf of other Jane Does “isn’t about money.” At his initial press conference on March 19 announcing the first wave of lawsuits, Mr. Buzbee stated: “The case ain’t about money. And it’s certainly ain’t about seeking publicity or fame. I personally don’t need it. And these women don’t want it. This case is about female empowerment.”
In fact, according to the documentation below, Mr. Buzbee sought $100,000 in hush money on behalf of Ms. Solis to quietly settle the allegations the month before he filed the first lawsuit.
“My client’s demand is $100,000,” Buzbee associate Cornelia Brandfield-Harvey wrote in a February 9, 2021 email on behalf of Ms. Solis. Ms. Brandfield-Harvey followed up with a clarification of the $100,000 demand later that same day. “This offer remains open until Friday of this week.” Mr. Buzbee is copied on all of the emails.
The Watson representative who engaged in the discussions with Mr. Buzbee and his firm is Scott Gaffield, the General Counsel at the Athletes First agency of Laguna Beach.
On February 19, Mr. Gaffield responded to Mr. Buzbee and Ms. Brandfield-Harvey by inquiring about “the rationale behind the $100k demand” given that “we don’t believe that the alleged facts show that Deshaun did anything wrong…”
Mr. Buzbee responded that same morning: “We made a legit demand. You rejected it. We won’t be making another or bid against ourselves.” He then added: “This is Houston, Texas. Perhaps you should find him a lawyer here so you can apprise both you and your client of the landscape here and who you are dealing with.”
In a written statement, Mr. Gaffield said:
“My email exchanges with Mr. Buzbee and Ms. Brandfield-Harvey were very clear. We did not think that the facts showed that Deshaun did anything wrong with their client. We believed then – and fully believe now – that Deshaun learned a lesson about putting himself in this type of situation by interacting with people he does not know. As the emails show, we were willing to continue discussions on Deshaun’s behalf to explore ways to prevent a lawsuit and a public spectacle. But Mr. Buzbee informed us that he was unwilling to do so. We expect that this matter will be resolved in court.”
The email communications occurred between February 3 and February 19, 2021.
