Paris Hilton

Los Angeles, Nov. 14 (Reuters): The man seen having sex with Paris Hilton in a notorious amateur videotape that has surfaced on the web has filed a $10 million slander lawsuit against the 22-year-old hotel heiress, her parents and her publicist.

Video entrepreneur Rick Solomon claims in his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit filed on Wednesday that the Hiltons and publicist Sari Garber have sought to portray him as a criminal.

He is seeking $10 million in damages.

The Hiltons have threatened to sue anyone who releases the tape, which was made when Paris Hilton was 19 and before Solomon, then 30, married actress Shannen Doherty.

Garber had no comment on Solomon’s lawsuit.

His name is spelled “Salomon” in the court papers. The sex tape, which was made in 2001 when Solomon and Paris Hilton were dating, has become fodder for countless gossip columns and is in being offered for sale or viewing on a number of websites.

“Hilton, her family and at least one of her publicists have ... embarked on a cold, calculated and malicious campaign to portray Salomon as a rapist who took advantage of a sweet and innocent girl who had no idea what happened to her,” the lawsuit says.

“Defendants then cleverly hinted to the press that there might be an issue as to whether Hilton was underage, which they obviously could have dismissed with one phone call,” the lawsuit says.

Paris Hilton stars in an upcoming FOX reality show, The Simple Life.