Anna Nicole Smith's Partner Gay?
Anna Nicole Smith’s friend, Howard K. Stern, is suing after a tell-all book about the former playboy bunny suggested Stern was gay.
Howard K. Stern is suing writer Rita Cosby and publishing house Hachette Book Group for $60 million, alleging defamatory content in Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith’s Death.
Amongst other things, Cosby’s book suggests that Stern slept with the father of Anna-Nicole’s baby, Larry Birkhead [both pictured below right]. The book also alleges that Smith repeatedly watched a video of the two men having sex and showed it to nannies that looked after her child.
According to Reuters, the former lawyer and partner of Smith says there are 19 libelous statements in the book that was launched 6 months after Smith’s death from accidental prescription drug overdose.
As the writer of the controversial book Cosby reportedly said Stern was undefamable, largely because his reputation was already in tatters. However, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin disagrees, and has ruled the defamation case can proceed on 11 counts. But Chin has said allegations of homosexuality won’t be a part of the trial, because being called gay isn’t defamatory.
“I respectfully disagree that the existence of… continued prejudice [against gay people] leads to the conclusion that there is a widespread view of gays and lesbians as contemptible and disgraceful,” said Chin in a Manhattan court.
Chin said that Hachette book group could not be sued, because the onus of truth was on Cosby as the book’s author.
Cosby’s lawyer, Elizabeth McNamara said she was pleased that the allegations had been clarified they ”...are fully confident that a jury will dismiss [the other defamation claims] once it hears all the evidence surrounding Howard K. Stern’s life with Anna Nicole Smith.”
Stern is yet to face trial for illegally supplying prescription drugs to Smith that may have lead to her death.
Your Thoughts
To post a comment, you need to be a SameSame Member
