Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Melquiades "Mel" Robles has lodged complaints against vlogger and Los Angeles, California resident Claire Contreras, more popularly known as "Maharlika," for defamation and invasion of privacy in a United States court.
Robles alleged in the complaint that he and his wife Sherwil have been subjected to Contreras' "malicious and defamatory attacks" on her YouTube channel Boldyak TV, and that these have considerably harmed their reputations.
The Robleses sued Contreras for defamation and defamation per se, as well as false light invasion of privacy before the Central District Court of California on July 15, through their lawyers Honieh Udenka and Camille Vasquez. Vasquez is noted for having represented award-winning actor Johnny Depp in his own viral defamation suit against his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard.
Contreras supposedly claimed that the couple had committed "everything from contract killing and assisting terrorists to stealing from the Filipino people" in 20 different videos released online.
Her content also contained images of the couple's daughter, who is a minor. These were "recklessly posted without concern," reads the complaint, and that it had made Sherwil "afraid for the safety and well-being of her family, and especially, her children."
"This is a case about a social media personality who willfully and knowingly spreads malicious lies about others, in the hope of raising her profile, achieving celebrity status and monetizing her defamatory posts," Robles said in his complaint.
Contreras has 327,000 subscribers and 1,211 videos on Boldyak TV, many of which criticize public figures. She was previously a supporter of Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte's tandem Uniteam, but is now a critic of the President and the First Lady.
