Franklin man fired after altercation with teen boy in dress sues Kathy Griffin for circulating video

A Franklin man who was fired from his job after an altercation with a teenage boy who wore a dress to prom in April 2021 is suing comedian Kathy Griffin for circulating video of the interaction. He claims Griffin’s tweets about the video caused the incident to go viral, which eventually led his employer to fire him.

The video shows Sam Johnson following Franklin High School student Dalton Stevens around the outside of Franklin’s Harpeth Hotel on April 24, 2021. Johnson called Stevens an “idiot” for wearing the dress to his school’s prom.

Griffin retweeted a clip of the TikTok video in the early morning hours of April 26, 2021. Johnson was fired from his role as CEO of VisuWell telehealth company later that day.

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“But for Ms. Griffin’s first tweet on April 26, 2021, the Video Clip and the April 24 Incident would not have gone viral on the internet,” the lawsuit reads. “The Video Clip and the April 24 Incident would have been quickly forgotten and would not have been used by VisuWell as a basis to terminate Mr. Johnson’s employment contract.”

Johnson is suing Griffin for tortious interference, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

He is also suing University Hospitals Health System, a VisuWell client that he claims pressured VisuWell into firing him. Johnson does not appear to have sued VisuWell itself.

Griffin tweeted about the lawsuit Thursday.

“This is what it means to be an LGBTQ+ ally. I will fight this suit and I will not settle,” Griffin tweeted. “I don’t think he got fired because of me. I hope these kids are OK.”

The video

The video was originally uploaded to TikTok by Jacob Geittmann, Stevens's boyfriend. It shows Johnson leering at Stevens for wearing a red prom dress. Stevens yelled at the man to "(expletive) off" and leave them alone.

"I'm sorry, I'm gorgeous," Stevens told Johnson.

"Are you?" Johnson asked with a grin.

The video then shows a woman, whom Geittmann identified as a mom of another prom attendee, approaching Johnson and begging him to stop so the couple could enjoy their prom night. An additional video clip shows Johnson smacking Geittmann’s phone out of his hand.

Johnson’s lawsuit claims he “never expressed any anger, raised his voice, or threatened the prom group in any way,” and calls them an “enormous disturbance” who exhibited “loud, vulgar, and obnoxious language and behavior” before the confrontation.

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"The vulgarities, including shouting, profanity and simulated sex acts, were

the worst Mr. Johnson had ever seen or heard in a public place," the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit blames Griffin’s reposting of the video for his firing, as well as subsequent negative social media comments, messages and reviews to his wife’s business referencing the incident.

Anika Exum and Brinley Hineman contributed reporting.

Cole Villena covers Williamson County at The Tennessean, part of the USA Today Network — Tennessee. Reach Cole at cvillena@tennessean.com or 615-925-0493. Follow Cole on Twitter at @ColeVillena and on Instagram at @CVinTennessee.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Franklin man fired after altercation with teen boy in dress sues Kathy Griffin