Tabloids and the Law

One may think that tabloids get sued all the time since it seems as if most of the information they print is false. However, tabloids win lawsuits over celebrities more often than one may think. The reason for this is that the definition of libel is a complicated one, and tabloids have found ways around it so they don't get caught. In order to avoid publication of libelous material, most tabloids keep lawyers employed in order to read articles they write before they are published. Many newspapers, though, know just how far they can go before the information they print is considered libelous. This is why tabloids seem to be constantly publishing untrue material and not getting punished for it. From a lot of experience, they know just what they can and cannot do with out going over the limit. The standard for libel of a public figure is very high which makes cases with tabloids hard to win for the celebrity. The celebrity has to not only prove that the printed information was false but also that the tabloid knew it was false and continued to print it anyways.

When it comes to stories that just seem outrageously crazy such as aliens on earth or bizarre new diseases, tabloids are not brought to court. Even though almost everyone knows these stories are fake, if the tabloids are not harming anyone's reputation then there is no reason someone would want to bring them to court to sue the magazine. Most people believe that it would just be a waste of time and money.


For the same reason, many celebrities don't even bother filing a lawsuit against tabloids. Even if the false information printed was harmful to their career, it would cost them thousands of dollars to take the case to court. A lawsuit may drag on for many years and would just attract more tabloid attention to the celebrity, reporting every step of the lawsuit, which may be worse than the initial false publication.

Also, many tabloids employ very powerful law firms that have experience in the case of libel law. They know how to win law suits for the tabloid companies. The tabloids have almost built up an intimidating reputation in this sense. Tabloid's lawyers often file many motions in court which tends to delay cases. Often times, the celebrity settles and decides not to pursue the case after a lot of time has passed. As a result, cases such as these never come to trial.

In a rare case, Justin Timberlake actually won a lawsuit against a Tabloid magazine. They reported that they had an interview with model Lucy Clarkson who claimed that she had an affair with Timberlake while he was dating Cameron Diaz. During court, the magazine admitted to fabricating the story, and Timberlake said he would donate the money for libel damages to charity. Timberlake was successful, but tabloids have still not learned that they should only print the truth.