Russian Tycoon’s Wife Loses Suit Over Depiction in ‘Kleptocracy’

The wife of tycoon and Russia Open founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky failed to show that the writer and director of a play that ran in Washington invaded her privacy and caused her emotional distress by depicting her as a murderer and prostitute, the D.C. Circuit affirmed Friday.

The First Amendment shields writer Kenneth Lin and director Jacquelyn Gay from Inna Khodorkovskaya’s suit over the 2019 running of “Kleptocracy” because its alleged depictions of its character “Inna” couldn’t have been reasonably understood by the audience to communicate truths about her, Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the ...