2/19/2007

13 Responses to “Can A Person Be Successfully Sued For “Abusing Their Celebrity Status”?”

1. That’s is a magical complaint.

   DRJ (605076) — 2/19/2007 @ 5:30 pm

   
   

2. If the facts of the case are true, and lives were actually placed at risk just b/c “Michael needed his privacy,” it looks like a new legal cottage industry is about to be born. It’s probably about time too…

   I would especially appreciate it if someone on the celebrity-watching end of journalism would take up a “Smoking Gun”-style site that would not only report celebrity (and prominent politician) breaches of the law, but follow up on how said breaches were cured in the system. A good example would be the recent arrests of Ray Liotta and Paris Hilton, both (I believe) for drunk driving. In particular, will he or Hilton ever ever see any consequences for their actions, as admittedly doubtful that that seems?

   I would also love to know if there’s been a single prominent individual in LA, NY, or DC in the past 20 years who’s actually paid fines (or even attorneys fees) out of their own pocket. The impression I have is that their “corporations” (i.e., whatever studio they’re working with, or agency that’s promoting/representing them) usually end up paying these, along with their clients’ yearly federal taxes. The net result is that while 17-year old Joey the file clerk at Megastar Studios gets laid off, Mr./Ms. Big Star never pays a dime or even spends a nanosecond looking back in regret.

   qdpsteve (cd214a) — 2/19/2007 @ 6:24 pm

   
   

3. What can any suit do to, say, Michael Jackson that he hasn’t already done to himself?

   C. S. P. Schofield (c1cf21) — 2/19/2007 @ 7:38 pm

   
   

4. I don’t trust anyone who mixes bold and italics.

   And I don’t trust anyone who uses italics in every sentence he writes.

   Daryl Herbert (4ecd4c) — 2/19/2007 @ 8:57 pm

   
   

5. plaintiffs have a better case against the hospital than they do against michael jackson. jackson’s lawyers will argue that his appearance at the hospital is too remotely connected to the damages complained of.
   don’t you hate the cult of celebrity entitlement? if i were visiting someone at a hospital and a private guard tried to move me around, there would be potentially lethal violence.
   visiting a friend’s house (one who owns a tv) awhile back, i heard there was a new reality show where celebs (including one of michael jackson’s sisters) were sworn in as special police officers for some town in the midwest, and making busts on camera. if some perp shot michael jackson’s sister to death on camera, it would be the funniest video of 2007.

   assistant devil's advocate (492127) — 2/19/2007 @ 9:07 pm

   
   

6. Well then Daryl, you’re a mixophobe! 😉

   qdpsteve (cd214a) — 2/19/2007 @ 9:08 pm

   
   

7. “That’s is a magical complaint.”

   As in WonderLaLAland? (No offense, Patterico. 😉 )

   nk (77d95e) — 2/19/2007 @ 9:32 pm

   
   

8. That’s pretty interesting. And if anyone abuses their celebrity status, it’s Michael Jackson.

   David N. Scott (71b49c) — 2/19/2007 @ 10:51 pm

   
   

9. Um… wait. That wasn’t funny at all. Man, I hope somebody has to pay up for this, but wasn’t that complaint written a little… funny?

   David N. Scott (71b49c) — 2/19/2007 @ 10:55 pm

   
   

10. Its language will certainly make it easier for a judge to grant fees and costs on a SLAPP motion.

    nk (f58916) — 2/19/2007 @ 11:09 pm

    
    

11. Or does SLAPP apply only to libel?

    nk (f58916) — 2/19/2007 @ 11:09 pm

    
    

12. In California, a SLAPP motion applies to any activity directly connected to free speech.

    Justin Levine (b1cc1f) — 2/19/2007 @ 11:50 pm

    
    

13. Yeah, it’s a pretty complaint, I like how they got “despicable’ in there. The bit about “elder abuse” should play well – that right there might be enough for the hospital to settle.

    I hope they do get something out of Jacko on this, shutting down a hospital by faking an illness (to duck out of a court appearance) could serve as the textbook example of despicable. And with a family torn away from a dying parent, well… excuse me, I need to go try and remember my Wikipedia account info.

    Michael Llaneza (05f9c7) — 2/20/2007 @ 8:03 pm