UPDATE: Calif. Appeals Court Allows Ryan O'Neal Libel Suit to Proceed

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the 7-page decision, Ryan O'Neal v. Craig Nevius (Case No. B238640), the California Second Appellate District Court has ruled the actor and long-time boy friend of the late Farrah Fawcett may proceed with his defamation case against a producer who alleged he stole an Andy Warhol painting from the actress' estate.

As reported by the THR, Esq. blog, the appellate court upheld an earlier trial court finding that denied the defendant's attempt to dismiss O'Neal's complaint under the state's anti-SLAPP law [Calif. Code Civ. Proc. sec. 425.16], ruling: "There is at least minimal merit to the defamation claim to satisfy the evidentiary standard to defeat an anti-SLAPP motion."

O'Neal sued Nevius for defamation and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, seeking more than $1 million damages. (See "TUOL" post 7/18/11). Both Good Morning America and Star Magazine reported--purportedly based on information provided by Nevius--that after Fawcett died of anal cancer in 2009, O'Neal concealed a Warhol portrait of her valued at $30 million in his home that was uncovered after daughter Tatum O'Neal repeated the allegation in her autobiography, Found. The University of Texas, to which Fawcett bequeathed her art collection, sued O'Neal to recover the silkscreen portrait that he insists is his.

The appellate decision sends the case back to the trial court.

Whither Jen, Brangelina & the Kardashians?

Image via WikipediaAmericans' taste can't have improved, so the sour economy must be to blame for sagging celebrity magazine newsstand sales.

Ad Week reports that the numbers from the Audit Bureau of Circulations' Rapid Report don't bode well for periodicals immersed in Hollywood glitz. People magazine, for instance, saw decreased newsstand sales over the second half of 2011 average out at 1.1 million copies, a 12.4 percent decline compared to second half 2010 numbers. People can take some solace in a 4.3 percent upward tick in subscriptions, for a total circulation of 3.6 million.

The news isn't much better for Bauer Publishing Co. periodicals Life & Style and In Touch, according to Rapid Report figures, as newsstand purchases plunged 7.5 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively. Celeb gossip journal Star Magazine, published by American Media, Inc., missed its rate base on more than half of  22 issues sold, while Us Weekly magazine, produced by Wenner Media, fell short on its circulation guarantee on five of 13 issues, Ad Week noted in its review of Rapid Report figures.

Looks like TMZ.com and tv talk shows are going to have to step up to inform Americans about whether Kim Kardashian is dating an NFL star and to provide bulletins on Demi Moore's rehab.

National Enquirer Parent Company Shopping Itself?

Image via WikipediaAccording to a story in today's New York Post, American Media, Inc.(AMI), parent company of supermarket tabloids The National Enquirer and Star Magazine, as well as other journals, including Muscle & Fitness and Radar Online, is looking for a buyer.

The Post claims private equity firm Apollo Management is kicking the tires. Apollo declined to respond to inquiries by the Post, but speculation remains the firm might consider snatching up AMI and combining it with its recent acquisition of CKX, which owns American Idol.

AMI emerged from a pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York [In re American Media, Inc., 10-BK-16140] in late 2010 (see "TUOL" post 11/17/10).  "TUOL" is hopeful that the National Enquirer's current owner holds out until it either is purchased by space aliens or adopted by Madonna or Angelina Jolie.

UPDATE: Holmes' Libel Suit Against Star No Longer Afoot

Image via WikipediaReuters and The Hollywood Reporter's "THR, Esq." blog report today that actress Katie Holmes has settled her $50 million defamation suit against Florida-based American Media's Star Magazine (see "TUOL" post 3/2/11).

Although the financial terms of the settlement in the Los Angeles Superior Court case, Katie Holmes v. American Media, Inc. (Case No. 11-cv-01750) were undisclosed, Holmes received an apology in the May 9 edition of Star Magazine that states the supermarket tabloid "did not intend to suggest that Ms. Holmes was a drug addict or was undergoing treatment for drug addiction." As part of the resolution of the case, the publication agreed to make a sizable contribution to a charity favored by Holmes, the Dizzy Feet Foundation, which advocates for greater access to dance education and offers opportunities to underprivileged children to pursue careers as professional dancers.

Holmes sued over a Jan. 20, 2011 front-page Star story trumpeting: "Addiction Nightmare, Katie Drug Shocker!" The inside story on page 42, however, made no reference to prescription or illicit drugs, but rather, to "addictive treatments" of Scientology counseling sessions employing an "e-meter" device. Holmes is married to actor and high-profile Scientologist Tom Cruise.

The dedicated staff of "TUOL" is delighted that Holmes is not an impaired substance abuser, though it does make it that much harder to explain why she agreed to portray Jackie Kennedy in "The Kennedys" mini-series.

Holmes Repairs to Court to Sue Star for Libel

Image via WikipediaActress Katie Holmes, 32, whose five-year marriage to actor Tom Cruise--Hollywood's most famous Scientologist--has been fodder for supermarket tabloids, has filed a $50 million defamation suit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against Star Magazine's parent company, American Media, Inc., whose stable of publications also includes The National Inquirer.

The nine-page Complaint, Katie Holmes v. American Media, Inc. (Case No. 11-cv-01750) arises from a January 2011 front-page Star Magazine headline: "Addiction Nightmare, Katie Drug Shocker!" that trumpets an inside story on page 42 that never suggests the former Dawson's Creek actress is a drug user. Rather, as reported by Reuters and The Hollywood Reporter Web site THR, Esq,, the article alleges Holmes is "trapped in a cycle of addictive treatments" at Scientology counseling sessions that involve the use of a device called an "e-meter," that purportedly stimulates endorphin production through a low-level electrical current the tabloid likened to "an effect similar to heroin."

Plaintiff's counsel, while noting that strenuous exercise also stimulates endorphin production, accuse the Florida-based publisher of deliberately misleading the public with a bogus Page 1 headline creating the impression that the Batman Begins heroine is a substance abuser that most shoppers would not bother to learn was not the case by turning to page 42 of the magazine.

In addition to the $50 million damages claim, Holmes also is seeking punitive damages.  As a public figure, she'll have to prove actual malice, in other words, that Star Magazine knew the headline and accompanying story were false, or showed reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity.  Hanging the lawsuit on an inflammatory headline is a risky proposition for Holmes as courts have ruled libel actions are not supportable by snippets of statements taken out of context.

Some may argue that the amount of damages claimed evoke one of the Ohio-born actresses films, Mad Money.

Extra: Natl. Enq. & Star Scribes Cut--Staff Caught in Hot News Bureau Share

Image via WikipediaTwo Star Magazine writers and one National Enquirer reporter are the latest job casualties as circulation and financially beleaguered American Media, Inc.("AMI") continues to trim costs.

According to a report by WWDMedia.com, the two tabloids, which already share office space, are going to operate as an AMI news bureau, with New York-based editors doling out the celebrity scandal articles generated by the bureau between the two papers.  AMI filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (In re American Media, Inc., 10-BK-16140) last November.(See "TUOL" post 11/17/10.)

Circulation figures for the supermarket tabloids remain flat, despite the continued presence of Mel Gibson and Michael Jackson's physician/pill dispenser.