Jim Belushi filed a defamation lawsuit Thursday against a Chicago comedy club’s general manager, claiming she defamed him by bad-mouthing him to other comedians.
Belushi is sole owner of Bessie Bl, LLC, a comedy club that also licenses the trademark “Belushi’s Comedy Bar” to other clubs, according to the suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.
Kyle Lane, owner of The Comedy Bar in Chicago, was in talks with Belushi to use the trademark name in fall 2014, according to the suit.
In January 2015, however, talks to use the trademark fell through, and Lane’s general manager “embarked on a public campaign to malign the reputation” of Belushi with other comics, vendors and business associates across the country, the suit said.
Belushi claims the general manager, Sahar Chavoshi, told other comics that Belushi is a liar and fraud.
Chavoshi also told comics Belushi was actively attempting to remove Lane from his own comedy club so he could take it over, the suit claims.
Belushi lost at least two comics who were scheduled to perform at his comedy club because of Chavoshi’s comments, the suit said. Belushi also claims Chavoshi admitted to him that she’d spoken negatively about him.
Chavoshi is the sole defendant in the one-count defamation suit, which seeks more than $50,000 in damages.
Belushi, who resides in Los Angeles, was the star of “According to Jim,” a comedy sitcom set in Chicago that ran for eight seasons. Neither Chavoshi nor Belushi could be reached for comment late Thursday afternoon.
