Chris and Taya Kyle Lied About Donating All the Proceeds from 'American Sniper' to Charity
Just days before Kyle was killed on February 2, 2013, he donated about $56,000 to the families of slain SEALs, Ryan Job and Marc Lee, as well as to a charity supporting veterans. At a memorial service for Kyle in Dallas, footage of which is shown at the end of "American Sniper," Lee's mother and president of the nonprofit America’s Mighty Warriors — whom Kyle describes in the book as “almost a surrogate mother to the other members of our platoon”— recalled the moment she learned of Kyle’s largesse. “I was speechless, overwhelmed and in tears,” Lee told the audience of 7,000 mourners. “Chris didn’t publish that book for an income or to be famous. He hated the spotlight. Chris did that for his teammates.”
Jesse Ventura won his lawsuit against the Kyle estate in July 2014 for $1.845 million after the former Minnesota governor successfully argued he was defamed by a passage in "American Sniper." Taya Kyle has said that she will struggle to pay the $1.345 million of that verdict for which Kyle's estate is responsible. Forged.com, a clothing company that sells officially licensed "American Sniper" merchandise, raised more than $1 million in donations in a week to cover part of what the Kyle estate owes Ventura. Forged.com is continuing to give a portion of sales on the site to the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation, which Taya oversees. She also has received other donations intended to help her pay the part of the Ventura judgment that HarperCollins’ insurance does not cover. Shortly after Kyle’s funeral in February 2013, hedge fund manager J. Kyle Bass, who helped Kyle co-found Craft International, visited Taya and promised to give her ownership of the home bought by Bass, through his company, that the family had been living in rent-free; and Chris' partners at Craft raised $300,000 for the Kyle family after his death. [Source]
In 2010, it was Bass, along with other investors, who provided Chris Kyle funds to live on, and he eventually raised a total of about $2.6 million to form what became Craft International. Shortly after Chris' death, Taya filed a lawsuit against Chris' co-founders at Craft, accusing them of mishandling company funds. In her legal filings, she detailed the promise Bass made of giving her the home and noted that he did not follow through. But other sources claim Bass conditioned his gift of the home on Taya giving proceeds from the book and movie to the families of two friends and fallen SEAL members, Job and Lee. The suit was settled out of court in late 2014, and Bass agreed to let her continue to live in the home until October 30, after which she can buy the house for $314,612 or pay rent to remain. [Source]
So whatever happened to the repeated claim that the proceeds from "American Sniper" would go/had gone to charity, benefiting the families of his fallen friends?
Consider what Kyle’s publisher wrote after his tragic passing: "He dedicated his life in recent years to supporting
veterans and donated the proceeds of "American Sniper" to the families of his fallen friends."An article in the Blaze definitively proclaimed: "A perfect reflection of his character, Kyle gave all proceeds from his best-selling book "American Sniper" to the families of soldiers killed in combat."
Or this line from a Human Events article: "For "American Sniper," Kyle donated the profits from that book to charity."
An article in D magazine quoted Kyle as saying he decided not to take a dime from "American Sniper": "As it became a best-seller, he gave two-thirds [of the proceeds] to the families of fallen teammates and the rest to a charity that helped wounded veterans. It was something he and Taya discussed a lot."
In The New Yorker, it was reported that "Kyle split the earnings with DeFelice and McEwen [his ghost writers] and donated his profits to the families of fallen soldiers."
Kyle perpetuated this idea, telling the same proceeds-went-to-charity tale to the Texas News Service and even adding that he regularly received tearful calls and letters of thanks.
And now for the kicker: It isn’t true. Out of the staggering $3 million that "American Sniper" collected in royalties for Kyle (as of June 30, 2013), only $52,000 actually went to the families of fallen servicemen. (Rather than 100 percent of the proceeds, as the public was led to believe, try 2 percent!) While Kyle’s widow claimed, in her testimony, that they never intended to profit from the book, and "wanted" to donate the money to other veterans, she said they were weren’t able to because of — get this! — "gift-tax laws that prevented them from donating more than $13,000 each to two families last year."
When Ventura’s attorney asked why they did not simply create a nonprofit (standard practice) to be able to give away the money without gift-tax concerns, Kyle said she had not had the time to set up such a nonprofit. Separately, she noted: "We are trying to find the right places and not just throw it away."Kyle had said he was giving all of his proceeds from "American Sniper" to widows and orphans of fellow SEALs. However, only $52,000 went to any families, and $26,000 went to Debbie Lee, one of Kyle's witnesses who offered her own version of the events, which didn't jive with the versions offered by Kyle or other witnesses. In addition to the multimillion in profits from the book, there were the paid appearances and the movie deal based on the book. Kyle's estate has profited to the tune of $6 million dollars, based on a percentage of $40 million in book sales as of late 2014.
It’s true that giving money away effectively is more challenging than many people realize. But it’s hard to believe neither of the Kyles was able to sort this problem out: Surely it is quite easy to locate the struggling families of fallen servicemen. And the challenges of setting up a nonprofit don’t excuse the Kyles’ and the publisher’s strongly implying, and allowing others to claim unambiguously, that they were giving all the money away when this was clearly not true.
Why is there no concern for those families of other veterans — many of whom, unlike Kyle’s supposedly destitute widow, probably are struggling financially? Do those families, who were supposed to receive help, not matter? [Source]
During the defamation lawsuit against Kyle's estate, an attorney for Ventura presented detailed documents and copies of checks showing that royalties for the book and associated payments to Chris Kyle, Taya Kyle, and his estate from the movie came to several million dollars. The attorney elicited from Taya that much of that money went to her agent, attorneys and others connected with the book. She also testified that she and her husband had agreed to donate proceeds from the book to veterans’ causes and had made contributions to two families so far totaling $52,000, but that she was deterred from making more gifts by tax laws. Kyle's attorney argued that she is under constraints because if she gives away too much money now, she might not be able to pay Ventura if she loses the court case. Ventura's attorney suggested in additional questioning of Taya that she could have created a nonprofit and given away much more money than she has. Taya said she had not had the time to set up such a nonprofit [this is a lie: several nonprofits had been setup in Kyle's name at the time of her testimony]. During the trial, court documents showed Kyle's book had earned royalties of more than $3 million (as of June 30, 2013), and the judge ruled that proceeds from an upcoming movie also could be subject to damage.
Taya Didn't Have on the Second Cross and Dog Tags When She Actually Testified, Just the Cross Necklace
American Sniper Chris Kyle Was Full Of Lies, Just Like The Movie
Forged 'The Legend' Campaign to Support Chris Kyle Family
August 13, 2014PRNewswire, Forged - Following the court judgment handed down recently against Chris Kyle's estate, SEAL veteran-owned, lifestyle brand, Forged leveraged its resources and community to create The Legend Campaign, whose t-shirt sales will benefit Taya Kyle and the Chris Kyle Estate. SOFREP, the Special Operations Forces Report, a well-respected media outlet staffed by writers with military backgrounds, reported Monday that Forged is the only apparel company approved to represent the Estate and family of Chris Kyle.
All proceeds from The Legend Campaign through August 15th will be personally delivered to Taya Kyle by Forged, with hopes to offset any costs the estate might pay as part of an upcoming settlement.
Navy SEAL sniper and veteran Chris Kyle was killed at a shooting range in Texas in 2013 by a Marine veteran with PTSD whom Kyle was trying to help. Prior to his death, Kyle co-authored the book "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History," and was featured in the media for his efforts to help those veterans with PTSD recover.
Jesse Ventura sued Chris Kyle for defamation of character based on a story in the book, and was awarded a controversial judgment against Chris Kyle's estate. Uproar from the military community, Lone Survivor author and SEAL veteran, Marcus Luttrell, and other notable voices in the media (CNN Anchor), were vehemently opposed to the court ruling since Chris Kyle, a decorated military veteran, was killed and the settlement only hurts the family of a highly decorated former Navy SEAL. Forged intends for The Legend sales to offset the costs of the settlement on Taya Kyle and the family.
'American Sniper' widow appeals Ventura verdict
NBC Kare 11 - The legal wrangling surrounding an alleged confrontation between two proud military men isn't over.
On Tuesday, attorneys for Taya Kyle, widow of famed Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle, filed documents with the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals contesting the verdict and $1.8 million award given to former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, who is a former Navy UDT diver.
Kyle's appeal requests that the verdict and damages from Ventura's defamation suit against her late husband's estate be thrown out, along with a Nov. 26 ruling that she was not entitled to a new trial.
Ventura's lawsuit stemmed from a chapter in Chris Kyle's best-selling book "American Sniper" in which Kyle described an altercation at a Navy Seal reunion during which he punched and knocked down a man he referred to as "Scruff Face." In interviews promoting the book, Kyle revealed that "Scruff Face" was actually Jesse Ventura, and said that the former Governor was speaking disrespectfully of America's military men and women.
Ventura
insisted that the altercation never happened and was simply invented to
create interest in Kyle's book and a subsequent movie. A federal jury
in Minneapolis ruled in Ventura's favor in late July and awarded him
$1.8 million in damages. In November, the judge who presided over the
case, the honorable Richard Kyle, denied claims by Kyle's attorneys that
the evidence and arguments in the trial did not support the jury's
decision.
Related:
A person should not bear false witness against another person. Jesse Ventura met with Chris Kyle, face-to-face, to discuss the allegations and set the record straight. He told Chris that he would drop the lawsuit if Chris publicly would admit to the lie and clear Jesse's name. Chris refused to do it. Why? Because book sales and a movie deal and his credibility were on the line. If he admitted he lied about Jesse, then people would question the other stories he told in his book. He was more than likely pressured by the publisher and the producers of the movie to stand by his story. He chose money over honor and integrity. Taya continues that legacy. Supporters raised the funds for her to pay the judgment she owes Jesse, but she wants to keep the money for herself. Jesse Ventura was defamed. Only Chris could truly clear his name. He died keeping that secret. Kyle's estate was unjustly enriched by the lies Chris told and the lies Taya continues to promulgate. The Kyles should not be rewarded for that. The only resolution Jesse had was to continue with the lawsuit and put the facts into the public record. Unfortunately, even after the judgment, people still believe Kyle's derogatory story about him. Jesse deserves to be compensated.
ReplyDeleteTaya Kyle has every right to keep the profits from the book and movie. But she needs to set the record straight and stop with the lies about where the profits went. Stop making excuses about why they kept the money. Stop perpetuating the lie that all the profits went to the families of fallen SEALs. The Kyles probably never imagined that the book would be so successful. The little they expected to make from it wouldn't have been much to part with, but the millions they earned, and continue to earn, is a different story. Book sales took off after Chris lied about sucker-punching Ventura for badmouthing the U.S. military, which was another lie he told about Ventura. The Military Industrial Complex singled out Chris. They needed a hero and then a martyr for the public to worship. Chris Kyle's memory is a cottage industry. Both Taya and Warner Bros. are marketing his image for the right-wing and the war industry to hold up as a symbol of America's military power. The only way the U.S. can defeat guerrilla warfare is to train service members to kill civilians, including women and children and entire villages: films like "American Sniper" are being produced to condition American citizens into accepting this tactic when the USA invades sovereign nations.