Digital Media Law Project
Published on Digital Media Law Project (https://www.dmlp.org)

Home > Moore v. Jezebel.com

Moore v. Jezebel.com [1]

Submitted by DMLP Staff on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 19:20

Summary

Threat Type: 

Correspondence

Date: 

12/15/2009

Status: 

Pending

Location: 

California

Verdict or Settlement Amount: 

N/A

Legal Claims: 

Defamation
In December 2009, counsel for Demi Moore sent a demand letter to Anna Holmes, Editor-In-Chief of Jezebel.com, in regard to a Jezebel post from November that speculated about whether Moore's cover photo for W Magazine had been photoshopped... read full description
Parties

Party Receiving Legal Threat: 

Jezebel.com; Anna Holmes

Type of Party: 

Individual

Type of Party: 

Individual
Organization

Location of Party: 

  • California

Location of Party: 

  • California

Legal Counsel: 

Martin D. Singer - Lavely & Singer
Description

In December 2009, counsel for Demi Moore sent a demand letter to Anna Holmes, Editor-In-Chief of Jezebel.com [2], in regard to a Jezebel post from November [3] that speculated about whether Moore's cover photo for W Magazine had been photoshopped because of an extremely skinny looking left hip. 

The letter asserted that the post defamed Ms. Moore by suggesting that she "secretly uses extraordinary artificial means to alter her appearance," and by insinuating that Ms. Moore had been untruthful in informing people that the image accurately reflected her body and hip. The letter also enclosed supporting letters from W's Creative Director Dennis Freedman and from Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, the photographers who took the photo. Freedman's letter stated that "no one at the magazine did any retouching of the image of Demi Moore," and the photographers' letter said "there was ABSOLUTELY no retouching on her lips or waist or legs!!"

Moore's letter demanded an apology and retraction, and that Jezebel.com remove all false and defamatory statements about Ms. Moore or the photo from the website.  The letter also warned: "Confidential Legal Notice, Publication or Dissemination Is Prohibited." 

In response, Jezebel.com posted the letter and wrote a follow-up piece [4] on the situation.  No photos or statements were removed, but Holmes did publish an apology, of sorts:

That said, we would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize if we cast aspersions on, or in any way hurt the feelings of Ms. Moore's left hip, waist, or legs. Our only intention was to call attention to distorted and disturbing-looking magazine covers... and the editors, photographers, art directors and retouchers who commission and create them.

Moore's counsel sent a nearly identical letter to Boing Boing [5] and fashion photography blogger Anthony Citrano [6].

Related Links: 

  • Jezebel.com: Lies, Hollywood Lawyers & The Continuing Case of Demi's Left Leg [4]
  • Jezebel.com: The Curious Case of Demi Moore's Left Hip [3] (disputed post)
  • Boing Boing: Demi Moore's lawyers threaten Boing Boing over photo analysis blog post [5]
  • Anthony Citrano: Demi's Moore's hip, and handling the truth [6]
Details

Web Site(s) Involved: 

Jezebel.com [2]

Content Type: 

  • Photo
  • Text

Publication Medium: 

Blog

Subject Area: 

  • Defamation
Court Information & Documents

Jurisdiction: 

  • California

Source of Law: 

  • California

Relevant Documents: 

PDF icon 2009-12-15-Moore Letter to Boing Boing.pdf [7]
PDF icon 2009-12-17-Boing Boing Response to Moore.pdf [8]
CMLP Information (Private)

Priority: 

1-High

DMLP Logo


Source URL (modified on 08/20/2014 - 11:10pm): https://www.dmlp.org/threats/moore-v-jezebelcom

Links
[1] https://www.dmlp.org/threats/moore-v-jezebelcom
[2] http://jezebel.com/
[3] http://jezebel.com/5402326/the-curious-case-of-demi-moores-left-hip
[4] http://jezebel.com/5430605/lies-hollywood-lawyers--the-continuing-case-of-demis-left-leg
[5] http://boingboing.net/2009/12/28/demi-moores-lawyers.html
[6] http://www.zigzaglens.com/demi-moores-hip-and-handling-the-truth/
[7] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2009-12-15-Moore%20Letter%20to%20Boing%20Boing.pdf
[8] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2009-12-17-Boing%20Boing%20Response%20to%20Moore.pdf