Stan Lee’s daughter denies elder abuse allegations
The daughter of Marvel Comic creator Stan Lee, JC Lee, has responded to the allegations that she abused her parents in their old age, calling them “all lies”.
In an interview with Business Insider, Lee denied that she exploited her father, Stan, and physically abused her mother, Joan, saying, “I never touched my parents”.
Before Stan’s death in November 2018, The Hollywood Reporter published an investigation including claims that he was a victim of elder abuse by business associates and his daughter. The article alleged that Stan and JC had a “powder-keg relationship” and she would lash out at him when her financial demands were not met, including one alleged instance in 2014 in which she attacked her parents after learning that her new Jaguar was leased in her father’s name and not her own.
The report alleges that JC Lee roughly grabbed her mother’s arm, leading to a bruise that The Hollywood Reports claimed to have seen pictures of, as well as slamming her father’s head against the back of a chair. Stan Lee was reported to not have involved the police due to JC’s “emotionally fragile” state.
JC Lee shared that while she would often scream at her parents, she was never physically abusive towards them. She revealed that she was advised to not issue a statement after the article was released but now said that she regrets this decision, adding, “They’re all lies. That photo is insane. I never did it”.
After the investigation, there was also much dispute about Lee’s estate, with his company POW! Entertainment assuming the rights to his name, likeness and intellectual property. JC Lee sued the company in 2019 to try and regain the rights to her father’s work, but it was dismissed.
When the Stan Lee Universe was created through the merging of POW! and Kartoon Studios, JC Lee sued them again, claiming that her stake in the company had been watered down and she had not received proper payments for her share. Leading up to his death, she claimed that her father’s associates had “taken everything”, with no comment from the representatives of the Stan Lee Universe.
Last month, a Kickstarter campaign was launched to create the documentary Stan Lee: The Final Chapter by his former assistant, Jon Bolerjack, which includes allegations of elder abuse.
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