Danny Elfman Slapped with Defamation Suit by Former Protégé Nomi Abadi

Photo Credit: Sachyn Mital / CC by 3.0

Danny Elfman is being sued by a former protégé, composer Nomi Abadi, on grounds of defamation for comments he made to Rolling Stone in 2023 about her previous accusations that he sexually assaulted her.Composer Nomi Abadi is suing her former mentor, Danny Elfman, for defamation in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday. The suit stems from comments Elfman made to Rolling Stone last year regarding her previous allegations that he sexually assaulted and harassed her.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that Elfman “peddled appalling lies for publication to Rolling Stone about Nomi, who had previously in an earlier lawsuit truthfully relayed facts corroborating his penchant to sexually abuse women.” The filing further alleges that Elfman made these remarks to “prop up” his reputation by “destroying Nomi’s credibility.”

“Defendant Elfman lied about Nomi, branding her as a scorned woman attempting to break up his marriage, and as someone who initiated nude photography,” the suit continues. “As a result of Elfman and his representatives’ defamations, Nomi has suffered humiliation, both personally and professionally, within their shared composing industry, and online, and harm to her professional reputation and her occupation as a composer, musician, and educator.”

The lawsuit continues, “Elfman’s scheme involved him and his representatives communicating the following lies, among others, to Rolling Stone: (i) that Elfman did not engage in sexual misconduct towards Nomi; (ii) that Elfman never masturbated in front of her; (iii) that Elfman never inappropriately touched Nomi; (iv) that Elfman never placed his bodily fluids in a martini glass he presented to Nomi; (v) that Nomi is a scorned woman seeking revenge and money to make Elfman ‘pay for having rejected her’; and (vi) that Nomi invited Elfman’s misconduct, including by requesting that he take nude pictures of her.”Nomi Abadi’s initial lawsuit was filed in 2018, and Rolling Stone was the first to cover it. The publication found at the time that Nomi had not only told several friends about Elfman’s alleged behavior, but had filed an extensive police report. Elfman denied the allegations at the time and released a statement claiming he “allowed someone to get close” to him without “knowing that [he] was her ‘childhood crush,’ and that her intention was to break up” his marriage and “replace” his wife.

Elfman and Abadi reached a settlement of $830,000 and signed an NDA, but in 2023, Abadi sued him for failing to make a payment toward that settlement. Elfman was also sued for sexual harassment last October by a second woman, who wished to remain anonymous.