Ashley Darby's estranged husband reportedly files a defamation lawsuit against his 'The Real Housewives of Potomac' co-star after she claimed in a November 2022 episode that he gave a man an oral sex.
- Mar 3, 2023
AceShowbiz - "The Real Housewives of Potomac" alum Michael Darby is suing Candiace Dillard for defamation. Ashley Darby's estranged husband reportedly filed a defamation lawsuit against Candiace after she claimed he gave a man an oral sex.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Michael sent Dillard a cease-and-desist letter earlier this year, though she "has not retracted or otherwise accounted for her defamatory statements."
Michael's lawyer asserts in the document, "In making this statement, [Candiace] initially hesitated and looked off-camera, indicated that what she about to say was salacious and imprudent, but nonetheless proceeded to intentionally utter the defamatory statement."
It further stresses that Candiace's statements "falsely accuse Mr. Darby of committing a crime" under the laws of Virginia (where the Darbys live) and are therefore "actionable as insulting words because they are deemed to incite violence and/or breach the peace."
Darby's legal team notes that the statements have prompted "public scorn, hatred, humiliation, ridicule, contempt and/or embarrassment," so the real estate executive is seeking $2 million, $1 million in compensatory damages and another $1 million in punitive damages, as well as interest, attorney's fees and associated costs.
Candiace made the gay oral sex claims in a November 2022 episode of "The Real Housewives of Potomac". At the time, she said that the 63-year-old star "likes to leave [Ashley] and go to a man named [censored]'s house and suck his d**k." She also claimed he pays for sex.
In addition to feuding with Candiace, Michael, who announced his split from Ashley in April 2022 after eight years of marriage, had been at odds with her husband Chris Bassett. The two notably got into a physical fight at Robyn Dixon's annual holiday party back in 2020.
Following the fight, Candiace called Michael a "creep," to which Ashley responded that "there have been a lot of things said about my husband, and he has defended himself, and some people have viewed that to be disrespectful - and yet, it's okay to drag his name through the mud. That's not OK."
Chris, meanwhile, responded, "You and my wife have gone back and forth for many years and I've never gotten involved. If I had an issue [with Michael] ... I would have gone to him at a separate time."
