Star Loses Judgement Against NY City Councilman
via SOHH
A Manhattan federal appeals court ruled against former Power 105 personality Star’s claims that a New York City Councilman defamed him when he called him a “sick, racist, pedophile” after the shock jock made controversial remarks about DJ Envy’s young daughter and wife.
According to the Associated Press, yesterday the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found city Councilman John Liu within his rights for remarks stated against Star (born Troi Torain) in 2006.
Star had appealed and filed suit against Liu after lower court Judge George B. Daniels also concluded that the councilman was within his constitutional rights. The appeals court noted that under New York and federal law, expressions of pure opinion rather than statements of fact are protected by the Constitution.
In 2006, the infamous Star was briefly charged with child endangerment after commenting about the wife and then 4-year-old daughter of rival NY radio station Hot 97’s DJ Envy. The shock jock was later fired from his post at Power 105, after he offered listeners of his highly popular “Star & Buc Wild Morning Show,” $500 for information about Envy’s daughter’s school as well as making sexually charged remarks about her and racial slurs towards Envy’s wife, who is part Asian.
The child endangerment charge was later dropped by prosecutors who said they wanted to spare the young girl further attention.
As SOHH previously reported, Star filed a $55 million lawsuit against Liu after the Councilman held a press conference calling for the termination of the DJ. Members of the NAACP and Social Action Committee of Philadelphia also joined Liu in the protest. The DJ’s termination, reported cost the Star an estimated $4 million a year in salary.
In his suit, Torain claimed Liu’s verbal attack towards him was motivated “by his desire for self-promotion and aggrandizement.”
Yesterday, the appeals court said a reasonable listener of Liu’s statements could not have believed that they were intended to convey objective facts in the context they were made.
Liu reacted to the ruling by stating “it was good news that no more taxpayers’ money will be wasted by Star’s lawsuit.”
Star’s lawyer was not available for response
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