Game of Thrones actor Joseph Gatt is suing the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Police Department, and L.A. District Attorney George Gascón, among others, for $40 million after he was branded a pedophile following a 2022 arrest for alleged sexual communication with a minor.
As reported by Variety, Gatt claims the defendants publicly branded him as a serial pedophile, which in turn ruined his reputation and career.
The lawsuit is claiming a “shocking and intentional destruction of Joseph Gatt’s acting career and personal reputation by Los Angeles County law enforcement personnel that resulted from a thoroughly botched criminal investigation, entirely lacking any probable cause, led by an obviously conflicted Deputy District Attorney who sought to destroy Gatt based on nothing more than bias and personal animosity.”
Gatt alleges his 2022 arrest was due to an “obsessed” 16-year-old fan whom he didn’t know and has never met.
Law enforcement said they received information that Gatt was engaged in “online sexually explicit communication with a minor across state lines.” He was arrested on an outstanding felony warrant. At the time, Gatt denied the allegations, calling them "100% categorically wrong and reckless."
Gatt's lawsuit arrives months after the charges against him were dismissed on Feb. 9, according to court records.
"It was determined that there were valid concerns regarding the sufficiency of the evidence," said a spokesperson for the LA County District Attorney's Office. "The charge was dismissed by the assigned prosecutor."
Gatt is best known for playing a Thenn warg in three episodes of Game of Thrones. He also has appeared in Black Adam, Thor, and True Detective, among other shows.
