AILING 92-year-old media mogul Sumner Redstone may be losing his edge — but not his appetite for sex and steak, according to explosive court papers filed by a spurned gal pal.
Former live-in girlfriend Manuela Herzer, 50, escalated the battle over the nonagenarian billionaire on Wednesday by claiming the chairman and controlling shareholder of Viacom and CBS can barely speak — nothing more than “brief grunt responses” — or scrawl his name, let alone run a multibillion-dollar media empire.
Despite his rapidly deteriorating condition, he is obsessed with eating steak and “demands, to the extent he can be understood, to engage in sexual activity every day, even though his doctor has repeatedly recommended that he abstain from daily sexual activity”, according to court documents filed in an LA County Superior Court.
Sumner Redstone is flanked by exes Manuela Herzer (left) and Sydney Holland in 2013.Source:Supplied
Up until last month, Ms Herzer would have been in charge of making healthcare decisions for Redstone when, and if, doctors eventually deemed him incapable.
But that was before Ms Herzer and another former girlfriend, 43-year-old Sydney Holland, were booted from his Beverly Hills mansion shortly after a Vanity Fairarticle suggested that in his twilight years, they became more controlling of the mogul and his fortune.
Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman has succeeded Ms Herzer as Redstone’s healthcare “agent”, according to Redstone’s lawyers.
Ms Herzer is challenging the October 12 decision to banish her from his home and is demanding that Redstone undergo a medical evaluation.
“I am convinced that if Sumner indeed signed anything himself that day, he lacked the mental capacity to understand what he was signing, much less the legal and practical significance of the documents he signed,” she said in the petition.
Sumner Redstone with Sydney Holland in 2013.Source:Supplied
In response, Redstone’s camp called Herzer’s suit “preposterous”, adding it was a “meritless action, riddled with lies, and a despicable invasion of his privacy”.
His lawyers filed exhibits from doctors that included a recent brain scan that they said shows there has been no drastic changes in Redstone’s health since Herzer’s departure.
The drama is being watched closely by shareholders and rival media companies, which are eyeing CBS and Viacom, controlled through Redstone’s National Amusements. Shareholders have been pressing to know more about Redstone’s health and the future of his companies.
A seven-member trust, including daughter Shari Redstone and Dauman, will assume control if Redstone dies or is deemed incapacitated.
Dauman said he met with Redstone on November 3 and found him “engaged and attentive”, according to filings from Redstone’s legal team. He said Redstone told him Herzer “has been threatening to litigate and that all she wants is his money”.
Shari Redstone added that family members are “enjoying their ability to visit with him regularly and to talk with him every day”.
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