LOS ANGELES (CNS) — An MMA fighter has dropped her lawsuit against Halle Berry, in which she had blamed the actress for her firing by the UFC in 2019.
A lawyer for Cat Zingano filed court papers with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Douglas W. Stern on Tuesday asking that the case be dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be refiled later. The court papers do not state if the parties settled or if Zingano is not pursuing the lawsuit for other reasons.
Zingano, 40, sued Berry, Bruised Film Productions LLC, Thunder Road Film Productions Inc. and Romulus Entertainment LLC in Aug. 2021, alleging she missed a vital UFC fight in order to star in the movie “Bruised” at Berry’s request in 2019.
“Berry told Zingano that Zingano inspired Berry and that Zingano had to be in the film,” the suit stated. “Berry concluded the meeting by telling Zingano not to make any plans because production of the film needed to start soon.”
Zingano alleged that a week later she turned down an offer for a UFC fight to take place that same year so she could appear in “Bruised,” a 2020 sports drama in which Berry starred and made her directorial debut.
After telling UFC she wouldn’t be able to fight because of the movie, the organization released her in Aug. 2019, the suit stated. Later that same month, Berry allegedly retracted the offer to have the fighter star in her film, saying that only UFC fighters could take part, according to the suit.
But according to court papers filed by Berry’s attorneys, the UFC released Zingano because she had lost four of her last five fights. Zingano made the decision to appear in the film without knowing what role she would play or how much she would be paid, and she did so based on text message exchanges with the 56-year-old Berry, who won the best actress Oscar for her role in the 2001 film “Monster’s Ball,” according to the court papers.
Zingano is now signed with Bellator MMA.
