Question

Carl Critic has just announced his choices of the worst Hollywood actresses of the year, and Stella Starr has been named the worst of the worst. Carl's announcement, made in his weekly column titled "Random Musings by Carl Critic" and published in the local paper, claims that he believes her to have the least amount of talent in the movie industry and that she "can't act her way out of a paper bag" When Stella reads Carl's column, she immediately starts to cry hysterically and then decides to sue him. Does she have a valid case of libel? No, Carl committed slander, not libel. Yes, her crying proves injury. Yes, but only if his statements cause her to lose money by losing movie roles No, this was merely Carl's opinion.

Answer 1

Answer: No, this was merely Carl's opinion.

Explanation:

Labelling a statement as an opinion generally protects the person who said it from defamation suits however this is not always the case.

If the opinion is based on disclosed and well known facts, the action is free of defamatory or libel charges.

This seems to be the case in this scenario as his column seems to be based on the performances for the year.

Bottomline is, Stella cannot sue Carl for libel as it is his opinion.