- Richard Simmons says he is not transgender in new filing against the Enquirer
- Simmons is suing the magazine’s parent company over a story from June 2016
- The headline exclaimed ‘Richard Simmons: He’s now a woman!’
- The cover also read ‘Secret boob job & castration surgery’
- Simmons sued Enquirer’s parent company American Media in May 2017
- Friday in court documents, the fitness guru countered ‘I am a male’ and that allegations of castration surgery have caused him ’embarrassment’
Richard Simmons says he is not transgender and gives a pointed list of reasons why in an ongoing explosive lawsuit with a magazine company who printed otherwise.
The fitness guru, who has been living as a recluse for years, is in the middle of a contentious legal battle with National Enquirer magazine’s parent company- American Media.
Simmons is suing the company for defamation after the Enquirer reported he was transitioning into a woman. The report claimed it was the reason he has been living out of the public eye for years. The magazine also claimed he had a ‘boob job’ and ‘castration surgery.’
He filed legal documents Friday outlining why, he says, the story is wrong, starting with the statement: ‘I am a male.’
Fitness guru Richard Simmons filed documents Friday in his ongoing legal battle with American Media. Simmons says he has never sought medical assistance to transition
In June of 2016 the National Enquirer published this cover which claimed Simmons was living out of the public eye because he was transitioning and that he is ‘now a woman’
Simmons filed his suit against the Enquirer and parent company American Media in May 2017
In the filing, Simmons counters the June 2016 cover story with a list of five reasons he says he is not transgender, according to TMZ.
The filing reads: ‘I am male. I am not transgender. I have never sought to obtain any medical treatment or procedure designed to transition from male to female.’
Simmons also says he has never had breast implant surgery, and he never ‘consulted with any medical professional regarding sex reassignment surgery.’
The magazine’s cover at issue exclaimed: ‘Richard Simmons: He’s now a woman!’ The front page piece shows Simmons lying down in make-up and a wig.
Also on the cover is a sub-headline that reads: ‘Exposed! Secret boob job and castration surgery.’
Simmons says he takes issue with the magazine’s claims that he had a ‘boob job’ and ‘castration surgery’
When Simmons originally filed his suit against the Enquirer’s parent company, American Media countered that calling someone transgender is not an insult.
Simmons addresses his support of the transgender community, while still taking issue with the report published in the Enquirer.
‘I fully support transgender individuals and their struggle to achieve acceptance and equality. Nonetheless, the false and fabricated claims that I was contemplating ‘castration’ and have had a ”boob job” have caused me extreme embarrassment.’