In light of the recent sex scandal involving Herman Cain, Adrianos Facchetti posted an article on the California Defamation Law Blog addressing whether or not a public figure’s sex life is a matter of public interest under the CA anti-SLAPP statute.
“Political and sports figures have recently argued that their sex lives are not a matter of public interest. Consider, for example, Herman Cain: in response to allegations from Ginger White that she had a decade-plus affair with him, Mr. Cain’s attorney, Lin Wood, said that those kinds of allegations have no place in public discourse and that Cain would not discuss them.
David Beckham, too, insisted in his lawsuit for libel against In Touch magazine that the story about his alleged sexual interaction with a prostitute was not a matter of public interest.
So the question is whether a political candidate’s or a world famous athlete’s sex life is a matter of public interest. The answer is not so simple and can be argued both ways.”
Read the rest of the article here: http://www.defamationlawblog.com/2011/12/articles/antislapp/is-a-public-figures-sex-life-a-matter-of-public-interest-under-the-antislapp-statute/