An Oregon life coach, represented by the lawyer who won a $140 million verdict against Gawker Media on behalf of Hulk Hogan, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Jezebel, one of the websites that was once part of Gawker's online media group.

Jezebel, a culture and news site geared towards women, ran a story about a group called "Superstar Machine," which quoted some ex-members referring to the group as a "cult." The founder of Superstar Machine, Greg Scherick, has sued Jezebel for defamation. Scherick is represented by Charles Harder, the same lawyer who sued Gawker, as well as the tech blog Techdirt, for defamation of his clients.

The article described Scherick as running a self-help group in which women gathered around him in a semi-circle and Scherick proceeded to "call people on our shit," in the words of one former follower. Scherick would tell women "what he perceived their spiritual and romantic failings to be," according to the article. This often led to tears, and crying in the group was "frequent" and "praised."

Women who joined Superstar Machine, often aspiring actresses or other creative types, paid $200 a month to belong to the group, according to Jezebel. Some reportedly paid as much as $600 or more. The article quoted one woman who said she was pressured to ask her family for $50,000 for the group.

Clientele down 70 percent

Scherick's lawsuit asks for the article to be removed from the Internet and notes that the article is the first Google search result for the terms "International Scherick" and "Superstar Machine."

Superstar Machine was developed by Scherick to offer group services to people who cannot afford his one-on-one life coaching rate, the complaint (PDF) explains. "Superstar Machine did not and does not seek publicity or attention," the complaint states. "Instead, Superstar Machine markets itself only through the positive word-of-mouth recommendations of its members."

The lawsuit says Superstar Machine's client base has dropped from 100 members to less than 30 since the publication of the Jezebel article.

The lawsuit mentions dozens of allegedly defamatory statements, including many quotes from some women only identified by first names or nicknames.

According to Jezebel's reporting, Scherick gave the women instructions on detailed aspects of their lives, including how to have sex and manage their romantic lives.

"We had phone calls having to share how long our orgasms were, the positions we masturbated in," one woman told Jezebel, in an allegedly defamatory quote from Scherick's complaint. "People were claiming to have like 30-minute orgasms."

The complaint says that Scherick is a life coach who helps people "tap into their unrealized potential and harness those skills to lead a successful and fulfilled life." It goes on to aver that Superstar Machine "does not target emotionally unstable or 'damaged' individuals for membership, although these types of individuals could be more inclined to join the group than someone who feels stable in their situation."

After the March 2016 jury verdict in which Gawker was ordered to pay $140 million in Bollea v. Gawker Media, the company filed for bankruptcy. The parent company of Univision bought many of Gawker Media's assets, including Jezebel.

Harder told the new owners to take down the allegedly defamatory article in August, but they didn't do so.

The complaint names as defendants Gizmodo Media, as well as the author of the article Anna Merlan, and former Jezebel editor-in-chief Emma Carmichael.