Jesse Ventura and his case against the ‘American Sniper’ book

In one corner, Jesse Ventura, former Minnesota governor and former pro wrestler. In the other, Chris Kyle, the American military hero who authored “American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History.”

Ventura claims Kyle defamed him in the book. The case was making its way through the court system when Kyle was shot and killed by a fellow veteran at a Texas shooting range earlier this year.

In the ongoing case, a recently unsealed deposition has Ventura discussing his difficulties finding work since the release of “American Sniper” in 2012. The crux of his defamation claim comes from the book’s account of Kyle punching “Scruff Face” for badmouthing the SEALs. “Scruff Face,” he said in interviews, was indeed Ventura.

Ventura, who says he hasn’t read the memoir because “I don’t like to read fiction,” still worries people think he’s a traitor to the U.S. and the military.

“Every day of my life, I walk around looking over my shoulder now, wondering who believes that and who doesn’t,” said Ventura, in a report from the St. Paul Pioneer Press. And his job offers have dried up: “I have never had to really go out seeking anything until very recently. Usually, it came to me.”

Ventura sat for the eight-hour deposition in November. A veteran of the Navy’s special forces himself, he claims that the punch never happened. “It’s affected me emotionally.... There’s nothing worse you could do to one of us than what he did to me. Nothing.”

ALSO:

Danielle Steel airs grievances on her blog

‘The Secret’ author Rhonda Byrne to publish new book this fall

Author Steven Johnson to host new PBS series, ‘How We Got to Now’