EXCLUSIVE: Chris Hansen Threatens Legal Action Over Predator Movie
Chris Hansen threatens legal action over 'Primetime,' the movie starring Robert Pattinson.
Sept. 17 2026, Published 6:15 a.m. ET
Chris Hansen – whose own cheating scandal was exposed – is threatening to sue over a film based on his infamous To Catch a Predator series that nabbed internet perverts.
The tarnished TV newsman, who's also been busted for passing bad checks, was axed by NBC in 2013 after his secret mistress confessed their illicit relationship to RadarOnline.com.
Hansen Slams Film as ‘Exploitative’
Robert Pattinson portrays Chris Hansen in 'Primetime,' a film described as 'inspired by true events.'
Now Hansen, 67, claims he's considering legal action over the soon-to-be-released movie Primetime, which is described as "inspired by true events," because producers didn't consult him but are using his name.
"If you're fictionalizing so much, why use real names?" said Hansen, who's portrayed in the film by The Batman star Robert Pattinson.
"It feels very exploitative to me. It feels sneaky and disingenuous to me that they would do this and not even say, 'This is what we're doing.'"
From 2004 to 2007, Hansen hosted the Dateline NBC segment To Catch a Predator, which used hidden-camera sting operations to snare sickos.
Hansen Weighs Legal Action Over Film
Hansen said an entertainment lawyer told him he could have a 'decent case' over 'Primetime.'
As for his legal options, Hansen said: "Somebody who's very, very good at all this and very entrenched in entertainment law, he said, 'You know, you can do that, and you probably have a decent case.'"
As RadarOnline.com readers know, it was exclusively revealed in 2011 that Hansen was a hot-blooded "s---" addict who traded raunchy text messages with his secret mistress.
In a series of steamy texts, the married father of two gushed over then-33-year-old TV reporter Kristyn Caddell.
At first, the cad denied he'd cheated, but the explicit texts – some too graphic to print – provided proof of their four-month romance.
Hansen Fears Lawsuit Could Backfire
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NBC dropped Hansen before he later hosted a series of true crime shows.
The Emmy winner was later nailed while straying on both his wife and his mistress with a Hollywood stripper.
Hansen found himself in hot water again in 2019 when he was busted for allegedly using rubber checks to pay a Connecticut vendor for nearly $13,000 in promotional materials. The charges were later dropped.
He has hosted a series of true crime shows since being dropped by NBC and says he fears suing over Primetime would only promote the film.
The disgraced journalist blasts the movie's trailer as "overly dramatic" and "dark," adding: "There are a lot of negative things in there that just aren't true."
