PR Newswire reports that Viacom, the parent of cable network VH1, and Liza Minnelli's soon-to-be-ex husband David Gest have settled their legal battles over the failed Liza & David reality series starring the ex-couple.
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The settlement ends the dueling lawsuits that resulted from VH1's decision to cancel the show during production. As a result, Mr. Gest hired a lawyer and then sued VH1 for $13.15 million. In return, VH1 sued the couple, alleging that the show was cancelled because of Mr. Gest's "unprofessional" antics.
In the settlement news release, Gest said, "I am pleased to be able to put this lawsuit behind me and focus on my business as a producer and promoter of entertainment events." Being out of the public eye might prove to be a good idea on his part, since his messy divorce brought the questions of his sexual orientation and behavior to the forefront, with friends of his declaring that he was gay and was a control freak bent on running every aspect of Liza's life -- consistent with Viacom's countersuit against him.
For its part, Viacom said, "We are delighted to put aside our differences with Mr. Gest and his production company without resort to further litigation." We might add that the end of the lawsuit comes as no surprise, as we discussed in our previous story.