EXCLUSIVE: Mario Lopez 'Organized a Smear Campaign' Against Former Cheerleader Who Accused Him of Defaming Her — 'She's a Lying B----'
Desiree Townsend has accused Mario Lopez of organizing a smear campaign against her.
July 1 2025, Published 2:16 p.m. ET
The former NFL cheerleader who is suing Mario Lopez for defamation has exclusively told RadarOnline.com she believes she was targeted by the actor in a strange bid to increase his own social media presence.
Desiree Townsend has accused the Access Hollywood host of orchestrating a "smear campaign" after reposting an embarrassing video from her past.
The 'Saved By the Bell' star is being sued for defamation.
Townsend earned the nickname the "Flu Shot Cheerleader" more than 15 years ago, when she was the subject of an Inside Edition story about claims a seasonal flu shot left her with a rare neurological condition called dystonia that caused her to slur her speech and convulse sporadically.
The now paralegal thought she had buried her past until Lopez shared the video on his own Instagram page, while adding the caption: "There’s gotta be some kind of award for this performance," while adding the hashtags #MethodActor and #OscarWorthy.
After repeated requests to take down the disparaging comment, Townsend felt she had no other choice but to file a $25million defamation lawsuit against the Saved By the Bell star and his employers.
Speaking with Radar, Townsend said she was shocked when she first discovered Lopez's comments: "I couldn’t understand why he would post about me. It was so outside of his character to be putting something like that up.
"He used the video segment from Inside Edition and the defamatory comment about me to increase engagement on his platform."
'Social' Services
Townsend has accused Lopez of 'escalating' the situation.
Townsend contends that after Lopez experienced a dip in his own social standing, he used her story to gain followers and boost his engagement.
"I was honestly hoping he would just take it down, instead it escalated to what became clearly a smear campaign against me," Townsend said.
"(Instead) He called me a lying b----, and now Mario is conspiring to continue the defamation and to destroy my prospective business opportunities with individuals at NBC."
Service Please
Lopez was caught on camera being served the lawsuit papers.
On Father's Day, Townsend served her lawsuit notice to the star and taped their interaction in a video that has since gone viral on its own.
In the clip, a shirtless Lopez can be seen in his front yard as an unknown person drops the summons behind the gate of the Access Hollywood host.
Townsend can be heard taunting him: "You’ve been served Mario," while telling her partner to drop the note on the ground.
"All right, lawsuit’s right there, Mario. You've been served. So, it’s there. Thank you. See you in court, Mario."
A perturbed Lopez can be heard calling her a "Crazy f------ b----" to which Townsend fired back: "Oh hey, Happy Father’s Day."
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Mario's Past
He did not have a positive reaction to being served.
Lopez has since fired back, filing a temporary restraining order against Townsend, something she called "ill-advised."
She claimed: "It now allows me to highlight his own criminal investigation for rape and his troubling public conduct posted on his social media accounts – documented heavy drinking, assaultive 'punching and kicking' under the guise of physical fitness, and on-camera insults calling me a 'crazy f------ b-----' – as evidence of him being an ongoing threat, while I have no charges or investigations against me."
In 1993, an 18-year-old woman accused Lopez of raping her at his house. Lopez denied the claim, and prosecutors dropped the charges after multiple witnesses contradicted the woman's account of her encounter with the star. But Townsend still plans to bring it up in court.
"I will also formally include the 1990s rape investigation as an exhibit in my opposition to his motion," she claimed.
