About a month ago, a trailer surfaced for a docudrama called Soaked In Bleach, which explores conspiracy theories behind the mysterious nature of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's death and not-so-subtly implicates that Cobain's wife, Courtney Love, may have been involved in foul play. Today (June 17), Love’s legal team issued a cease-and-desist warning to theaters that plan to screen the movie, saying that it is defamatory.

The entire statement can be found here, but the gist of it is summarized pretty well in this excerpt:

We demand that you immediately cease and desist from infringing on Ms. Cobain’s rights in any manner whatsoever, including but not limited to completely halting the Film’s planned exhibition and promotion.

The Film falsely presents a widely and repeatedly debunked conspiracy theory that accuses Ms. Cobain of orchestrating the death of her husband Kurt Cobain. A false accusation of criminal behavior is defamatory per se under California Civil Code Section 45a, which entitles Ms. Cobain to both actual and presumed damages.

The makers of the film responded with a statement of their own, which can be read in full here. It begins:

We were disturbed to learn that Courtney Love’s lawyers sent threatening letters to movie theaters all over the country. Most arrived before 'Soaked In Bleach' was released last week, presumably before she or her lawyers ever saw it. She obviously hoped to scare theater owners into dropping the film. Thankfully, very few were intimidated. Most saw the letter for what it is – a cowardly attack on the rights of free speech, free expression and free choice.

It doesn't look like the filmmakers are going to back down without some coercing, and Love is also known to firmly stand her ground as well, so time will tell how this will turn out. It the meantime, Soaked In Bleach is currently in theaters and is available to watch online from Vimeo on Demand.

Soaked in Bleach (Official Trailer)

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