Kevin O'Leary, the "Shark Tank" star, is being sued for defamation alongside Fox News by a group opposing a data centre project he is planning in Utah. The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in Utah federal district court, follows O'Leary's on-air claims that individuals involved in the opposition had ties to China, allegations he has since publicly retracted after admitting he had no evidence to support them.

The suit was brought by the Alliance for a Better Utah, Elevate Strategies, Gabrielle Finlayson and Josh Kanter, who say the claims caused reputational, financial and emotional harm, as well as ongoing safety concerns. It alleges O'Leary attacked the plaintiffs on Fox News five times over three weeks, and accuses the network of repeatedly broadcasting the unsupported claims to millions of viewers. Fox News said it had corrected the record on every relevant programme and would "vigorously defend" against the lawsuit, while O'Leary, who apologised via social media in late June, said he had "no evidence" the named individuals or groups were funded by China or the Chinese Communist Party.