When Richard Simmonsdropped off the map in 2014, his disappearance and one man’s hunt to find him became the subject of the podcast Missing Richard Simmons. The series was a mild hit in the podcast world when it was released in 2017, but the show’s tireless search for finding Simmons reignited our public interest in finding out what is happening in Simmons’ life. It would now seem that the idea of locating Simmons has become a thorny issue and is now at the heart of a new lawsuit filed by the reclusive celebrity and his driver, Teresa Reveles.
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Turns out Simmons was not at all OK with that fact that private investigator Scott Brian Matthews allegedly planted a tracker on Simmons’ driver’s car as one of the various ways to track the celebrity down. The Hollywood Reporter notes that Simmons and Reveles found the tracking device in December 2017 and claim that it has been on the car for more than a year, although it worth noting that neither Simmons nor Reveles explains how they knew it’d been there for that period of time.
The suit, filed Monday, June 4, alleges that Matthews was using the tracker to find out if Simmons was visiting hospitals for treatments related to gender confirmation. The suit also says that Matthews works for publications like the National Enquirer and was gathering information “so that the tabloids can publish it for financial remuneration, and to embarrass and humiliate celebrities.” It also cites California laws that make it illegal for anyone, short of law enforcement, to place a tracking device on a car.
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This is certainly not the first time in recent memory that Simmons has filed a lawsuit in relation to claims made about his life as it relates to his current whereabouts or health. In May 2017, Simmons filed a lawsuit against the National Enquirer and Radar Online about stories they ran claiming Simmons was transgender and undergoing the transition process from male to female. A judge dismissed the case, saying that although being transgender could cause someone to suffer hatred, contempt or ridicule, “the court will not validate those prejudices by legally recognizing them,” according to THR.
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At the time we’re reporting on this, Simmons, Reveles, Matthews haven’t issued official statements about the lawsuit.
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