A Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed the Mario Lopez lawsuit brought by former NFL cheerleader Desiree Townsend on September 25, 2025, granting Lopez’s anti-SLAPP motion, throwing out all defamation claims with prejudice, and ordering Townsend to pay his legal fees.1AOL. Exclusive Mario Lopez’s Huge Court2Yahoo Entertainment. Ex-Cheerleader Hook Mario Lopez A separate civil harassment restraining order against Townsend remains in effect until February 2027, and Townsend has filed an appeal.3Yahoo Entertainment. Mario Lopez Earns Restraining Order4AOL. Exclusive Flu Shot Cheerleader Files
What Townsend Sued Over
The suit, filed in June 2025, centered on an Instagram post Lopez had shared in 2024. Lopez reposted a more than 15-year-old Inside Edition clip of Townsend slurring her speech and moving erratically after a 2009 flu shot, captioning it, “There’s gotta be some kind of award for this performance,” with the hashtags #MethodActor and #OscarWorthy.5Radar Online. Mario Lopez Screams Court Flu Shot Cheerleader Desiree Townsend Defamation
Townsend’s complaint framed the post as a “smear campaign” that mocked her medical condition, damaged her personal and professional reputation, and triggered online harassment. She brought claims for defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.6Yahoo Entertainment. Mario Lopez Completely Lost Cheerleader Townsend has since said she was diagnosed with Stiff-Person syndrome, a genetic condition she says was unrelated to the vaccine.2Yahoo Entertainment. Ex-Cheerleader Hook Mario Lopez
Why the Court Dismissed the Case
The judge granted Lopez’s motion under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which allows for quick dismissal of lawsuits that target someone for exercising free speech on a matter of public interest. The ruling rested on three findings.
The court held that Lopez’s caption and hashtags were “purely opinions, and not statements of fact,” and therefore “non-actionable opinion” under defamation law. It found that Townsend’s 2009 story remained a matter of public interest in 2024, which brought the post within the anti-SLAPP law’s scope. And it concluded that an average viewer would read the post as a “comedic interpretation” of Townsend’s prior media appearances rather than a factual medical diagnosis, noting that Lopez is a television host and not a doctor.7Yahoo Entertainment. Mario Lopez Shuts Down Ex
Lopez’s attorneys also argued Townsend had “voluntarily participated in, consented to, approved of, and ratified” the conduct she was suing over, pointing to her own extensive public appearances discussing the flu-shot incident.7Yahoo Entertainment. Mario Lopez Shuts Down Ex After the dismissal, his legal team said in a statement that they hoped the ruling, combined with the restraining order, would “end her fixation and obsession with our client.”8Radar Online. Flu Shot Cheerleader Desiree Townsend Mario Lopez Defamation Lawsuit Dismissed
The Father’s Day Service and the Restraining Order
On Father’s Day, June 15, 2025, Townsend went to Lopez’s home with a process server to deliver the lawsuit papers. Lopez was in his front yard. According to accounts of the encounter, he responded with an expletive-filled outburst, called Townsend a “crazy f—— b—-,” and slammed his gate shut, inadvertently trapping his young son outside. Townsend recorded the confrontation and later posted the footage to TikTok.9Radar Online. Mario Lopez Served Court Papers Defamation Lawsuit Flu Shot Cheerleader Video
Lopez petitioned for a civil harassment restraining order, arguing that Townsend’s appearance at his home caused “chaos and fear for his young children and family members who witnessed the event,” and that posting the video exposed his family and home address to millions of viewers, placing them at “risk of further harassment, public ridicule, and potential physical danger.”10AOL. Exclusive Mario Lopez Finally Addresses11NewsBreak. Exclusive Mario Lopez Takes Extraordinary Step of Slapping Flu Shot Cheerleader With a Restraining Order The court issued a temporary order and extended it in August 2025. It requires Townsend to stay at least 100 yards from Lopez and his family and runs through February 2027.3Yahoo Entertainment. Mario Lopez Earns Restraining Order
How the Damages Figure Kept Climbing
The amount Townsend sought grew through the life of the case. She filed at $10 million, raised the demand to $25 million, and eventually pushed it to $50 million after adding Lopez’s law firm, Geragos & Geragos, as a co-defendant.12AOL. Exclusive Flu Shot Cheerleader Vows Townsend accused the firm of being “just as liable as Mario Lopez,” alleging it had leveraged “fabricated reports,” mischaracterized online commentary as harassment to support the restraining order request, and engaged in conduct that led to her personal information being leaked online. She said she intended to move to disqualify the firm from representing Lopez.13FandomWire. Mario Lopez Lawsuit NFL Cheerleader Now Wants 25 Million More
Where Things Stand Now
Townsend has said she will challenge both the dismissal and the restraining order. She filed an appeal of the restraining order in October 2025.4AOL. Exclusive Flu Shot Cheerleader Files Her stated grounds include that the anti-SLAPP motion was “never properly heard,” that Lopez’s team presented “no opposition evidence,” and that the court failed to address portions of her amended complaint regarding an alleged “coordinated smear campaign.”7Yahoo Entertainment. Mario Lopez Shuts Down Ex
As of June 2026, the appeal is in the appellate court phase, with no ruling issued and no hearing date publicly reported. Townsend has said her primary focus is on overturning the restraining order.10AOL. Exclusive Mario Lopez Finally Addresses The dismissal stands, the fee award stands, and the 100-yard restraining order remains in force until February 2027.3Yahoo Entertainment. Mario Lopez Earns Restraining Order