Eva Green Wins $1 Million Lawsuit Over Scrapped Movie After 'Painful' Trial: 'I Stood My Ground'

"I am grateful to the Court, to the Judge, to my legal team and to my valiant agent who is my strength and my shield," she said in a post-verdict statement

Eva Green on the red carpet at the International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia
Eva Green. Photo: David Zorrakino/Europa Press via Getty Images

Eva Green is celebrating a legal victory but speaking out about a "painful" public trial.

On Friday, the French actress won in the case she brought against White Lantern Ltd., a film-production company that contracted her to star in a sci-fi movie titled A Patriot before the production was scrapped in 2019 after it failed to gain financing. Green, 42, claimed she was still owed a $1 million contract fee even though the movie was never completed, Variety previously reported.

On Friday, Mr Justice Michael Green ruled in her favor and also dismissed a counterclaim that had been brought against her by White Lantern and finance company Sherborne Media Finance, The Guardian and BBC News reported.

In a statement on Instagram Friday, the Casino Royale actress expressed her satisfaction over her win in London's High Court after a "painful and damaging" legal ordeal.

"The Judge has found that I was never in breach of my contractual obligations. The judgement is clear," Green wrote. "I am grateful to the Court, to the Judge, to my legal team and to my valiant agent who is my strength and my shield."

Spokespersons for White Lantern did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment regarding the verdict Friday morning.

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White Lantern and Sherborne Media Finance's countersuit against the actress claimed she purposefully subverted the film's production so she could purchase its script and produce A Patriot herself.

Green said in her post-verdict statement that, during the suit, she "was forced to stand up to a small group of men, funded by deep financial resources, who tried to use me as a scapegoat to cover up their own mistakes."

"I am proud that I stood up against their bully-boy tactics," she said, also claiming that "they made false allegations about me in public court documents which the Judge has now shown are totally incorrect."

After calling out "misreporting" from multiple unnamed outlets, Green went on to say in part that she "fought tooth and nail to defense the beautiful film that I loved and had signed on for. A film that spoke of a cause I hold dear — climate change and warned of the resource wars and mass migration that would occur if we don't address the problem."

"I stood my ground, and this time, justice prevailed," she wrote.

She later added, "I wish I could say that this ordeal has made me stronger, better, wiser. But to have my personal life dragged through the press and the court was more painful and damaging than I can say. Which is why I want to thank those kind people who, when I was being vilified by the press, supported me, on social media and on other platforms."

Eva Green arrives at the High Court
Eva Green. James Veysey/Shutterstock

Green previously revealed that hearing her private WhatsApp messages read publicly in a courtroom had been "humiliating" amid her lawsuit over payment for the movie that never came to fruition.

On Jan. 31, the actress took the witness stand at London's High Court, during which a number of messages between her and her agent, as well as with filmmaker Dan Pringle, were read aloud, according to Variety.

In messages released during the lawsuit, Green called producers on the film "evil" and "morons," referred to crew members on the production as "s----- peasants," and called the production a "f---ing nightmare," according to the U.K.'s The Times.

"Sometimes you say things you don't mean," the actress said in court, per The Times. "You hate someone, you say 'I'm going to kill this person.' Are you going to kill this person? No. It's a cry from the heart."

Green also acknowledged that she wanted the film's production to collapse, but she continued to testify that she did not intentionally sabotage the movie and was prepared to shoot the film before production ceased.

"It's true I was worried about the whole situation, I felt the movie was not in safe hands," she said in court, per The Times. "It was so chaotic. I still believed in the movie and I still wanted the movie to happen."

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