Legal

Courtney Love Twitter defamation case reaches court

By | Published on Thursday 6 January 2011

Courtney Love

A defamation case brought against Courtney Love by fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir after the Hole frontwoman launched a vicious tirade against her on Twitter and various other social networks in March 2009 will go to court on 18 Jan.

Love accused Simorangkir of many things, including prostitution, drug dealing, assault and, as is customary for Courtney, stealing from her. Seemingly this lengthy rant came after the designer demanded payment for several thousand dollars worth of clothing. Love claims that all the accusations she made were based on things told to her directly by Simorangkir, though the designer denies this.

Simorangkir’s legal team will argue that Love’s rant, coupled with the musician’s status as a fashion icon and trendsetter, caused significant damage to the designer’s career, entitling her to millions of dollars in compensation. This is the first defamation case that focuses on a celebrity’s tweets to go to trial, so will be watched closely by many.

Love’s attorney, James Janowitz, told the Hollywood Reporter this week that he is confident his team can win the case, saying: “We don’t believe there’s any defamation, and even if there were defamatory statements, there was no damage”.

Perhaps wisely, Love yesterday announced that she is closing all of her social media accounts, tweeting: “The end. Am shutting down all social media tomorrow first thing, from here on in I have NO comment”.



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