Did Jean-Claude Van Damme Injure an Actor’s Eye?
Unraveling the Cyborg Lawsuit
In the 1990s, a lawsuit was filed against action star Jean-Claude Van Damme for causing an injury on the set of the film Cyborg.
Let’s delve into the details of this lawsuit and how it unfolded.
During his career in the film industry, Jean-Claude Van Damme, also known as the “Muscles from Brussels,” gained fame for his intense and well-executed fight sequences.
However, it appears that this realistic approach may have had unintended consequences, as a stuntman suffered a serious injury while filming a fight scene with Van Damme on the set of Cyborg.
Cyborg, released in 1989, marked one of Van Damme’s early ventures as a lead actor, following his breakthrough role in Bloodsport in 1988.
Although initially intended for Chuck Norris, Van Damme ended up taking on the main protagonist role.
Set in a cyberpunk world, Cyborg earned its R-rating with its abundance of violent battles and brutal kills, many of which were performed by Van Damme’s character.
Throughout the movie, Van Damme’s character, Gibson Rickenbacker, utilized his martial arts skills and cyborg enhancements to combat knife and sword-wielding criminals and pirates.
In 1993, Van Damme found himself facing a legal battle due to an incident that occurred during one of Cyborg’s fight scenes.
Stuntman Jackson “Rock” Pinckney, who portrayed one of the pirates Van Damme’s character had to confront, accused the actor of gouging out his eye.
At the time, Pinckney was serving in the U.S. Army and was struck in the eye with a rubber knife.
The scene required Van Damme to kick the knife out of Pinckney’s hand, simulating a throat slash.
Unfortunately, the rubber knife accidentally struck Pinckney’s left eye, resulting in permanent blindness and his subsequent discharge from the military.
The lawsuit alleged that the damage caused by Van Damme was irreversible and sought over $10,000 in damages.
Pinckney claimed that Van Damme intentionally stabbed his eye, arguing that the actor’s commitment to realism often crossed the line.
Van Damme and his attorney countered this by asserting that it was an unfortunate accident and presented no evidence suggesting otherwise.
They maintained that Van Damme’s actions were not deliberate or reckless.
Ultimately, the court ruled against Van Damme and ordered him to pay Pinckney a sum of $487,000.
What worked against Van Damme’s defense was the testimony of other stuntmen who had worked alongside him on Cyborg.
Their accounts supported Pinckney’s claims, revealing that Van Damme did not shy away from physical contact during fight scenes.
Despite the outcome of the lawsuit, this setback did not deter Jean-Claude Van Damme from continuing to incorporate his brand of fighting into his subsequent films.
