Why is Mario Lopez being sued? Actor gets served in a viral TikTok video
American actor and television host Mario Lopez is currently trending after a TikTok video of him getting served a lawsuit went viral, originally uploaded by @powerclips53. It was later reposted by a woman named Desiree Townsend (@Cheering4Change) on X, where she wrote in the caption:
“Mario Lopez served my $10 million defamation lawsuit today by Maria. Any monetary awards from the suit will be donated to Women In Media, a charity in Los Angeles. Thank you for your service, Maria!”
In the 42-second video, a female voice from behind the camera can be heard approaching the gate of Lopez's residential compound as a man accompanying her drops the court documents on the ground. As the shirtless Mario in black boxers was seen walking away from the camera, a visual of his compound was captured.
"You've been served. So, it's there," the woman was heard saying, to which Mario seemingly replied, "Crazy f**king b*tch." The woman further stated:
“Thank you. See you in court, Mario. Oh, hey, Happy Father’s Day.”
According to Distractify, Mario Lopez is being sued by Desiree Townsend after the former shared a 2009 news clip video of her on June 19, 2024, and hinted that she had staged the symptoms of a rare neurological condition called dystonia. Lopez's last year's Instagram post was captioned:
“There’s gotta be some kind of award for this performance… #MethodActor #OscarWorthy.”
More about Mario Lopez’s recent legal trouble
On June 15, 2025, Mario Lopez was served with a multi-million-dollar defamation lawsuit by Desiree Townsend, who confirmed the same by sharing a video on the social media platform X the next day. It had the text, "Mario Lopez served my lawsuit on Father's Day."
In the video that Lopez uploaded last year, he shared a news clip featuring Townsend from 16 years back, where she first appeared to be behaving erratically, but later seemed completely fine.
The reporter in the broadcast, who was interviewing Desiree, claimed she was exhibiting symptoms of a rare neurological condition called dystonia, which was a side effect of a flu vaccination. However, she and her husband were reportedly unable to find a treatment.
The clip then shifted to her a few weeks later, where she appeared to be doing better, walking her dog, going shopping, and driving her car, among other usual chores.
“Hard to believe that the woman we have been discreetly observing for the last few weeks is the same woman we met during the height of the flu shots scare. So, we wanted to ask her about her remarkable improvement,” the video narrator mentioned.
The reporter then asked her about her "complete recovery," to which she said she was gradually getting there. Meanwhile, Mario Lopez indicated in his caption that Desiree Townsend might have been faking the whole thing and seemingly put on a performance.
Now, a year later, she has sued him for $10 million, accusing him of online and public defamation. As reported by Distractify, the court documents claim that Mario Lopez posted Desiree Townsend's video for clout after his Mott's apple sauce endorsement failed to garner maximum traction.
The publication shared that Townsend was seemingly pilloried in 2009 for allegedly staging her symptoms. However, over the years, she has maintained that it was real. In 2023, she further told NBC News during an interview that it might not have been related to flu vaccination, and anti-vaccine supporters seemingly used her to push their narratives.
Notably, when Desiree originally went viral in 2009, she was dubbed the "vaccine cheerleader." Since then, she has claimed that the right kind of diet and exercise helped her to seemingly manage her alleged symptoms.
