She went medieval on him.
A former couple immersed in the Renaissance Faire culture and community are now jousting in federal court, where a one-time Lord Mayor claims his ex has besmirched his valor through a vicious online campaign of lies.
After their five-month romance ended, Jacqueline Insel accused Michael Weide in August of rape and infecting her with an STD in posts on Facebook — posts he wants wiped from the web, according to a lawsuit he filed this week in Manhattan federal court.
Insel “has carried out a social media campaign to destroy” Weide’s reputation, and has even “contacted . . . employers to deny him opportunities for work,” the suit alleges.
Weide — who plays the role of “Lord Mayor Walter Birchum” — is suing Insel, 24, for $1 million for “lying about their relationship” since it ended, “actively publishing slander and lies” on social media, and “causing irreparable damage to his reputation.”
In a Facebook post, Ibsel — whose character is “Mushroom Rosie” — said she had “a consensual financial dynamic” with Weide, and that he drugged her one night, “took me over state lines without my knowledge, sexually assaulted me (with no condom: I got an STI), urinated on my unconscious body, threatened me, and has effectively ruined my life.”
Added Insel, who lives in New Jersey: “You have single handedly, in one night, destroyed me so badly. You have hurt me, my family, and those around me in a series of selfish, disgusting acts. My mother’s child is gone, I am just the remnants of what’s left living in her body. I wish you nothing but the worst.”
Weide’s lawsuit claims all sexual encounters between the two were consensual and involved weed, booze and unspecified “role playing.”
Weide has “never contracted a sexually transmitted disease and never infected” Insel with one, and no rape occurred, the defamation suit contends.
It was unclear if Insel reported the alleged rape to police.
Weide, who lives in New York and Connecticut, contends he was let go by the Connecticut Renaissance Festival, after Insel posted about him on social media.
At Renaissance Faires, attendees journey back in time, speaking and dressing as though it were the English Renaissance. There’s also period-appropriate entertainment, like jousting, and food, like smoked turkey legs.
Weide’s lawyer said he had no comment. Reached by phone Thursday, Insel also refused to discuss the lawsuit.
A representative for the Connecticut Renaissance Faire did not respond to requests for comment.
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