In a recent document allegedly signed by Stan Lee, the former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief/chairman accused his daughter, Joan Celia “J.C.” Lee, and his friend, Keya Morgan, of attempting to "gain control over [his] assets, property and money." That document was signed nearly two months ago. Fast forward to Tuesday, and the living legend is denying those claims while simultaneously standing by both his daughter and Morgan.
In fact, in a pair of videos filmed for the Hollywood Reporter, the 95-year-old Lee said, "my relationship with my daughter has never been better and my friend, Keya Morgan and I, also have a great relationship."
That denial would seem to contradict a Feb. 13 document Lee put his signature on that stated Morgan was one of a trio of men, including his daughter's ex-consultant (Jerardo “Jerry” Olivarez) and her attorney (Kirk Schenck), with "bad intentions" trying to get Joan to wipe his fortune (with an estimated worth of $50-$70 million) out.
The papers, acquired by the Hollywood Reporter, state that the 68-year-old J.C. "never had the ability to understand or manage money," which was supported by a claim that she often overspent money given to her in a trust setup by Stan and his late wife, Joan B. Lee. That same document also claims that J.C. would demand that properties be transferred in her name, which Stan claims he always resisted.
In an effort to rectify this problem after he's gone, the document says Stan intended to establish a "Irrevocable Trust" to pay expenses for his home and condo. If J.C. wanted to, she would then be able to live there. If that is not what she wanted to do, then she could sell the properties (or rent them out) and be paid in the money earned from that.
As you can see in the video above (which was filmed by Morgan), Lee called those previous allegations "totally incorrect, inaccurate, misleading, and insulting." He also said that the lawyer he hired, Tom Lallas (who prepared the documents), was employed for only a few days before he was dismissed.
“Anybody who is saying anything negative about us or about them suing me or me suing them is just spreading lies. And unfortunately, we seem to live in this environment where anybody can say a lie about anybody and it immediately gets published and it gets transmitted and millions of people read it, see it, and believe it,” Stan said. “So I want to say it as definitely as I can: My relationship with my lovely daughter J.C. is wonderful. My relationship with my good friend Keya Morgan is great, we’re best friends. In fact, he's taping this for me now. There is nothing bad I can say about my daughter or about Keya.”
He also saved some of his criticisms for Lallas.
“I just cannot understand what would make seemingly normal people…go out on a limb with lies…and force me to make a speech like this,” he added. “For which there should be no need. Everything in my life is going the way I want it to. My friends are my friends, my daughter is my daughter, and I’m beginning to learn who my enemies are. That’s really all I can say now. I'm not a lawyer; I don't know what I should be saying. But everything I’ve said up until this moment is God’s truth.”
Lee does not say that the signature on said document wasn't his, but he did say the eye disease he suffers from (macular degeneration) left him pretty much blind. He says that his vision is so adversely affected, he may have signed the document by mistake.
In fairness, Lallas defended himself with a statement to People that said:
"I knew, when Mr. Lee signed the Declaration, that he suffers from macular degeneration that makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for Mr. Lee to read documents. Accordingly, before Mr. Lee signed the Declaration, I told him that I was going to read it to him, in its entirety, and make any changes that he wanted made before presenting it to him for signature, and Mr. Lee agreed with this suggestion.
You can read about the entire saga over at the Hollywood Reporter.
