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Movie star Halle Berry was sued by former UFC star Cat Zingano over an alleged failed promise by Berry to put the MMA star in one of her feature films. According to TMZ, Zingano claims she was advised by Berry to refuse a UFC fight while she was under contract with the company because the film’s backers cited “liability concerns from the movie’s insurer.”
Zingano’s suit alleges Berry promised Zingano a role in her movie, “Bruised”, but she never actually ended up coming through on that. Instead, the suit alleges Zingano was cut from the UFC after she followed Berry’s instructions about turning down her next UFC fight so she could be in the film.
But things got even worse for Zingano.
The suit alleges per TMZ that when Zingano informed Berry she was cut from the company due to following her advice, Berry turned things around on her by saying she was no longer up for the role because she had been cut by the UFC.
Zingano was “shocked and dismayed” per TMZ at that news, but that didn’t help her land either of the gigs she had just lost.
Instead, Zingano no longer had her job in the UFC, and she was also left out of Berry’s movie.
“Zingano was torn between the significantly valuable career-advancing opportunity to fight for title contention, and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be involved with Defendant Berry in a feature film about a character whose story so closely mirrored Zingano’s own life story,” the suit states per Variety.
“Alpha Cat” has since signed with Bellator.
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Berry Allegedly ‘Cut Off All Communications’
The TMZ report states “Halle has cut off all communications” with Zingano, so the MMA fighter is “suing for damages” because Halle failed to deliver what she promised.
Per Variety, Zingano is claiming “promissory estoppel” in the suit. She’s arguing she relied on Berry’s promise to include her in the film when she turned down her UFC fight, and that it was a reasonable decision based on what Berry had told her.
According to Cornell Law School, “promissory estoppel refers to the doctrine that a party may recover on the basis of a promise made when the party’s reliance on that promise was reasonable, and the party attempting to recover detrimentally relied on the promise.”
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Berry’s Movie ‘Bruised’ Set for Netflix Debut
“Bruised” is a 2020 sports drama set to be released by Netflix on November 24. Berry stars as the protagonist in the film, and it also marked her directorial debut.
UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko has a role in the movie as the villain, but it’s unclear at the present whether Shevchenko’s role is the same one Zingano believed to be on the way or a different one.
What is clear is that Zingano’s lawsuit is alleging Berry is the person who played the role of villain in real life, and now Zingano is seeking damages in court because of it.
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