Defamation of Celebrities - Research Paper Example

Defamation of Celebrities Defamation refers to the act of giving false information with the intent to tarnish an individual`s character or reputation.. Defamation mostly occurs to celebrities or public figures. There are several reasons that would make someone slander someone else. They include jealousy and greed. The two types of defamation are slander and libel. Slander refers harmful statements spoken by a person. It is mostly a statement targeted at a particular individual or group. Libel is any written material containing damaging information. Such as, an article, or a photograph. Slander can be differentiated from libel is that slander is deniable while libel can be proved because there is hard evidence. In the essay, we shall explore the ramifications of defamation and how best to deal with it. The essay shall explore three celebrities who were involved in defamation cases. Namely Angelina Jolie and her husband Brad Pitt, Bill Cosby and former President of the United States Bill Clinton. Angelina Jolie together with Brad Pitt and their children are one of the most recognized celebrity families in the world today. Their movies have garnered millions of dollars in sales around the world, but it is what they do outside of Hollywood that gets the most attention. Both of them are involved in humanitarian activities with Angelina being a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations. Her husband is also involved in humanitarian efforts, but he is mostly active in the war torn region of Darfur. Their work is well known and appreciated especially when they adopted children from war torn regions to show the world it is possible to help save the world one child at a time. Not everybody was pleased with what they were doing and rumors started circulating that their actions were motivated by gaining fame and they were trafficking children. This was because they adopted children from Africa, Asia and South America. Tabloids published these malicious reports without having any actual evidence and the paparazzi followed them everywhere trying to get a photograph. This behavior went on for some time without them taking any action, but that was until they published photos of their newly born daughter that they decided to make an example the paparazzi. A news agency called News of the World published a story that the couple was breaking up and added a few statements concerning their parental skills. The statements seem to have been the last straw and they sued the agency for slander. The agency claimed that they had adopted all those children only to abandon them after the divorce. There was increased public interest and the couple came out to dispel the rumors as false and they announced a wedding but did not specify on the date. This show of solidarity left the agency with egg on its face. What ensued was a longstanding court battle because none of the two sides wanted to cede any ground. The agency claimed that since its publication was tabloid, it was within its right to write any story they saw fit. Brad and his wife stated that the story was an infringement of their rights. After a prolonged court battle, the judge ruled in favor of the couple. He stated the article was an infringement to the couple`s private lives and a violation of the bill of rights. The agency was ordered to pay fines that ran into millions of dollars. The judge also ordered the agency to issue a public apology to the couple. This action was meant to humiliate the agency for its faulty reporting and also as a warning to other agencies that enjoy slandering other people (Cheeseman, 79). Bill Cosby is an American comedian, author, actor, musician and an activist. Since he is a famous person who did not have any scandals, it was only a matter of time before the Hollywood bug caught up with him. The Hollywood bug is the name given to scandals that plague celebrities. Bill Cosby was the model of an upright man who stood by his principles. He was regarded as an honest man whose example should be followed until he was accused of sexual assault in 2005. The woman who lived in Canada claimed that Bill Cosby drugged her then raped her. The media immediately lashed out writing all manner of things in the tabloids. They assumed he was guilty but did not have sufficient evidence to support their claims. Bill Cosby denied the claims and even went on numerous interviews trying to clear his name, but they had already passed judgment. The woman claimed that Bill gave her two pills that rendered her unconscious then proceeded to molest her. This happened in 2004. After a drawn out court case, the case was dismissed due to lack sufficient evidence. The court acquitted Bill Cosby of all charges, but the damage had already been done. The woman was adamant that a travesty of justice had occurred since Bill was a celebrity the justice system had favored him or he had bought them off. After some time passed the media realizing what they had done, issued a public apology to Bill Cosby for the emotional and mental anguish they might have caused during the trial. Later that year, another woman by the name Helena Green came out claiming Bill Cosby had sexually assaulted her over 30 years ago. She claimed that he did the same thing to her just as the woman in the earlier assault case against him. Helena worked as Bill Cosby`s assistant in California but was now a lawyer. The media, this time, did not jump the gun and point accusing fingers at him, they instead waited for his response and the outcome of the investigation being carried out. Helena was furious with the media for ignoring her case instead of publicizing it as they had done in the previous case. The reason was that since Bill Cosby had been acquitted in the earlier case, the public saw this as a ploy to milk money from him because of his celebrity status. The charges for the second offence were dropped due to insufficient evidence. It was later determined that Helena was suffering from substance addiction and the court enrolled her in a rehabilitation center (Whitaker, 194). Bill Clinton a former president of the United States is best remembered for his highly publicized sexual assault case filed against him by Monica Lewinsky. This is a prime situation whereby defamation had very dire consequences. She claimed to have had sexual encounters nine times with Bill Clinton. Something he denied vehemently even under oath during the trial only to later admit to everything. The scandal emerged in 1998 and led to his impeachment as president by the House of Representatives. There had been rumors about the supposed affair but no one dared say anything since the Federal Bureau of Investigations was trying to cover it up. The media after learning of the affair tore the President apart. They made fun of him and even attacked his family in the newspapers. His wife, first lady Hillary Clinton, chose to ignore all the calls to divorce her husband and decided to stand by her husband`s side all through the ordeal. This action proved to be the tipping point of the trial because her actions showed that their marriage and family was still intact (Gold, 3). This changed the public’s perception of the trial as they saw ulterior motives as the driving force behind the scandal. They saw politics as the biggest motivator and their assumptions were confirmed when the House of Representatives impeached Bill as the president. Soon after, the public’s eye focused on Monica. They saw her as a home wrecker and a political assassin, who was sent by Clinton`s political enemies to destroy him. Bill Clinton would be later acquitted of the charges but was not reinstated as president afterward. The media offered their apology for attacking his family, but they were not sorry for their coverage of the court proceedings. Defamation if not dealt with can ruin someone`s reputation especially if that reputation has taken much time and effort to build. Defamation can be either true or false it all depends on the evidence presented. In the case of slander, if there is no audio or video clip showing an individual saying the same words, he or she can deny it. Libel, on the other hand, can be easily proved since it is written material and there are always copies of the articles or photographs. Defamation can result to millions of dollars in damage claims paid to the affected persons. So before making any defamatory comments make sure there is credible evidence to back up the claims or else you might find yourself in a court of law. Sometimes the cases have resulted in hefty fines or even serious jail time for the guilty parties. So it is important to remember that defamation is a criminal act and could land someone in trouble unless there is real and credible evidence. Work cited Gold, Liza H. Sexual Harassment: Psychiatric Assessment in Employment Litigation. Arlington: American Psychiatric Pub, 2004. Web Whitaker, Matthew C. Icons of Black America: Breaking Barriers and Crossing Boundaries. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood, 2011. Print. Cheeseman, Henry R. Essentials of Business and Online Commerce Law: Legal, E-Commerce, Ethical and Global Environments. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. Print. Read More