Actress Lindsay Lohan and her mother Dina filed a defamation lawsuit Monday against Fox News over a guest’s comment for which the cable news channel apologized nearly a year ago.
In February 2014, shortly after the death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, several commentators on Sean Hannity’s show were discussing celebrities who died early from drug overdoses. During the segment, commentator Michelle Fields quipped that “Lindsay Lohan’s mother is doing cocaine with her.”
In papers filed Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court, Lindsay and Dina Lohan claim that the allegations were “malicious innuendo,” according to TV Newser.
Shortly after the segment aired, Lohan attorney Mark Heller wrote a letter to Fox News head Roger Ailes, calling Fields’s comment “outrageously slanderous and defamatory” and demanding an apology and retraction.
“In addition, I hereby demand that Fox News Channel immediately remove the blog posting on its website and the video of the program from all places that it may be viewed and not repeat the false and defamatory statement in any future broadcasts or publications,” Heller wrote.
According to TV Newser, a Fox attorney promised to take the offending video off of the company’s website, and host Andrea Tantaros issued an on-air apology. Fox News has not weighed in on the new lawsuit, saying, “Our legal team has not reviewed this yet so we can not comment.”
In August 2013, the younger Lohan admitted to using cocaine in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, according to TMZ.
UPDATE Fox News has released a statement in response to Lohan’s suit: “We will defend this case to the fullest. The remark about which Lindsay and Dina Lohan complain was made on live television by a guest nearly a year ago. We removed the segment from our archives altogether last February and also apologized on-air. At that time, the Lohans did not make any demands for money, and we are surprised they are doing so now.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.