Niki Taylor filed a federal slander lawsuit against E! Entertainment for alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress with its profile of the model in the new series “Blvd. of Broken Dreams.” The U.S. District Court suit, filed Friday, also alleged fraud, breach of contract and invasion of privacy claiming E! Entertainment representatives falsely claimed the show would focus on Taylor’s current life.
The cable network allegedly told Taylor and manager Lou Taylor, no relation, the show would feature current professional endeavors, including her signature fragrance, clothing line, upcoming cosmetics line and charitable foundation, the suit said.
Instead, the suit said, defendants E! Entertainment Television Inc., E! Networks Productions Inc. and a producer focused on Taylor’s past hardships and characterized her as a celebrity “who risked everything … and lost.”
The E! synopsis of the show on its Web site describes “Blvd. of Broken Dreams” as, “In a place between heaven and Hollywood, dreams turn tragic and fame goes sour fast.”
“My life is far from a ‘boulevard of broken dreams,’” Taylor said in a statement.
Last week’s premiere episode of “Blvd. of Broken Dreams” was repeatedly shown on the cable network despite demands from Taylor’s lawyers that it be pulled from the lineup, Taylor attorney Caroline H. Mankey said.
“They neglected their journalistic obligations to report truthfully and accurately; they violated express promises they made to the plaintiff, supermodel Niki Taylor; and they demonstrated a reprehensible disregard for the substantial harm their actions would cause to Ms. Taylor,” the complaint said.
Telephone voicemail and e-mail messages to E! Entertainment spokeswoman Sarah Goldstein weren’t immediately returned.
Taylor and race car driver Burney Lamar married on Dec. 27 at the Grande Colonial Hotel in the La Jolla area of San Diego. Taylor, 31, and Lamar, 26, met at a charity event in January 2006, her publicist Lesley Burbridge-Bates said. They live in Nashville.
It was the first marriage for Lamar and the second for Taylor, who has 11-year-old twin boys, Jake and Hunter Martinez, from her previous marriage to former football player Matt Martinez.
2 Responses to “Model Niki Taylor Claims Slander in Suit”
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If you can’t stand the heat Niki get out of the kitchen. So like a celebrity to want publicity, shoot off their mouth, regret it afterwards and blame the press.
A “celebrity” should always be prepared for some bad press – it comes with the job. Yes, the show’s title “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” should have been a clue to Ms Taylor that the subject material of the show would deal at least in part with the tragedy in her life.
That being said, a contract is a contract and breach of contract (misrepresentation of the subject matter of the show also constitues fraud) also makes the show fair game for a lawsuit. Libel laws exist for this very reason – even celebrities are entitled to some protection against misrepresentation, especially potentially damaging publicity that could affect income. Yes, Ms Taylor is entitled to damages if the show is guilty of breach of contract and fraud. Her comeback, such as it is, is a story worth admirable attention; if she was told this was to be the focus of the story but something else was actually shown, then I say let her sue and let her win. Being a show on television does not give you license to slander.