Richard Simmons accuses his ex-assistant of blackmail, stalking and extortion for selling 'cruel' sex change story

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Richard Simmons has accused his former assistant of blackmail, stalking and extortion for peddling a false story that he was transitioning to become a woman.

Simmons, who has not been seen in public since 2014, made the claims in a lawsuit against the National Enquirer and Radar Online in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday.

In legal documents obtained by DailyMail.com, his lawyers claim Oliveira maliciously sold false information to the two outlets to profit from the eccentric fitness guru's time out of the spotlight and that they published them knowing they were false.

He says that while Oliveira was 'pitching' the 'hurtful' stories, he was also sending Simmons emails threatening to 'destroy his reputation' unless he agreed to pay him to stop. 

Richard Simmons has accused Mauro Oliveira, his former assistant, of blackmail, stalking and extortion in a lawsuit about stories Oliveira sold to tabloids claiming the star was transitioning to become female. The pair are pictured together at the 2013 Los Angeles Pride Parade 

'Since early 2014, Mr. Simmons has taken a leave of absence from the media spotlight in order to retreat from his 40-year career in television, fitness and other arenas of entertainment. 

'Starting from around May 2015, Mauro Oliveira, an individual who has blackmailed, extorted and stalked Mr. Simmons for several years with the intention of destroying the career and reputation of Mr. Simmons, contacted several press outlets, including the Enquirer and Radar, and offered information on Mr. Simmons’s disappearance in exchange for a fee,' the lawsuit reads. 

'Mr. Oliveira contacted the National Enquirer on at least three separate occasions, offering three separate stories as to why Mr. Simmons has been absent from the media in the past few years.' 

The first fake story, which he sold in May 2015, claimed he was 'frail, weak and spiritually broken,' the suit claims.

In February 2016, Simmons says Oliveira told the Enquirer Simmons was being held hostage by his long-term housekeeper Theresa Eveles.

Finally, in May 2016, he told the outlet the 68-year-old was transitioning to become a woman.  

Simmons claims The National Enquirer's stories about him amount to a 'hurtful campaign of defamation' 

The lawsuit includes printed copies of the Enquirer's stories which featured photographs of him dressed as a woman. He says they were taken out of context and were old images captured during his career when he often dressed up as a woman as part of a burlesque performing act

The National Enquirer published the claims with accompanying headlines of 'shock sex surgery'. It printed photographs of Simmons shirtless and described how he planned to have breast implants fitted and undergo hormone therapy. 

The magazine said Simmons now planned to be called Fiona and ran photographs of the star dressed in women's clothing which they claimed had been taken during his time out of the spotlight. 

Simmons insists that the images were old and taken out of context.

'The false story about Mr Simmons' transition included an old image of Mr. Simmons from 2013 (before his disappearance), dressed in costume as a female, which he has done openly over the years consistent with his well-known and longstanding burlesque-style entertainment persona,' his lawyer said. 

Simmons has been seen just once since his 2014 disappearance. He was returning to his Hollywood home in April hidden beneath a blanket after a stint in hospital. He is pictured being helped back in to the property by his housekeeper Theresa Eveles who was accused of taking him hostage and using witchcraft in stories published by the Enquirer 

After the story was published, he claims Oliveira contacted him denying ever making the sex change claims and promising he had been misquoted by the magazine. 

He offered to recant the story in exchange for money. 

Simmons lawyers showed the Enquirer his offer to retract as proof that their story was based on bogus information, they said. 

They also claim to have warned the magazine that it should expect a lawsuit before it printed the story but that they were ignored. 

Simmons (above in January 2014, shortly before he retreated) said the 'real story' behind his disappearance would 'eventually' emerge 

According to the lawsuit, American Media Inc. told Oliveira not to contact any of its journalists attempting to sell information again in August 2016 but it has ignored Simmons' requests to have the stories he provided retracted.  

Oliveira is not named as a defendant in the suit which alleges libel against American Media Inc, the company which owns the Enquirer and Radar Online which Simmons says knew he was not a trustworthy source or ought to have known because he gave three different versions of why the star disappeared. 

'For a source to tell three entirely different stories regarding the same event, one grounded in allegations of physical and emotional breakdown, the next in allegations of abduction and witchcraft by a housekeeper, the third claiming sex change surgery, was on its face sufficient to instill subjective doubt regarding the truth of the allegations and the reliability of their source.' 

Simmons claims the publications 'crassly commercialized and sensationalized an issue that ought to be treated with respect and sensitivity' by reporting Simmons was preparing to change sex when he isn't. 

'With calculated malice, the National Enquirer and Radar Online have concluded that they can make money by running false and salacious stories claiming that Mr. Simmons is transitioning when he is not.' 

Simmons (left in 2013) said media outlets knew claims Eveles (right in December) was holding him hostage were false but ran them anyway 

He added that he is an 'avid supporter of the LGBT community' and that his grievance lies in the fact that the stories are not true instead of any problem he has with the label of being transgender. 

The stories, which were reported on the National Enquirer's front page, amount to a 'hurtful and egregious campaign of defamation,' Simmons' attorney' said.  

'All of these assertions were untrue, and were merely attempts by Mr. Oliveira to gain a profit in exchange for providing a false narrative about Mr. Simmons' leave of absence," continues the complaint.

The lawsuit also teased that the 'real story' as to why Simmons has gone missing would soon be revealed.

'The real story about Richard Simmons will come out eventually' it said. 

'While pitching around these ideas, Mr. Oliveira was simultaneously blackmailing Mr. Simmons, sending him emails and threatening to destroy his reputation with damaging press coverage unless Mr. Simmons paid Mr. Oliveira to stop.' 

It is not clear how long Oliveria worked for the star. Simmons is seeking to be awarded the equivalent of all the money he was paid by the two media outlets. 

American Media Inc. did not respond to DailyMail.com's requests on Monday afternoon. 

A representative previously told The Hollywood Reporter it stood by its stories, insisting they were based on solid and credible sources.

Simmons has not been seen since February 2014.