The author of an "unauthorized tribute" to Clay Aiken is suing the "American Idol" singer.
- Aug 8, 2006
AceShowbiz - Being famous has its ups and downs. As of Clay Aiken, the American Idol is now facing the down one. The singer has been sued by Jeannie Holleman, the author of an "unauthorized tribute" to Aiken, claiming he defamed her and conspired to stifle sales of her book.
In her lawsuit filed Friday August 4th in Wake County Superior Court, Holleman claims she's lifelong friend and neighbor of McGhee family, a Raleigh resident that were friends with Aiken's mother, Faye Parker, and took her in when Parker and her young son left her abusive husband.
Holleman claimed further in the suit that Aiken, his mother and others conspired to defame her and depress sales of her 2005 book, "Out of the Blue - 'Clay' it Forward," by denying they knew her, branding her stories as lies and demeaning the book on Aiken fans' Web sites.
Aiken, on the other hand, has in a statement issued by RCA Records said Monday August 7th that he had "instructed my attorneys to not only vigorously dispute the claims that have been made but to also pursue all possible remedies against those involved in the perpetration of these untruths."
The lawsuit seeks at least $260,000 in damages and asks the court to order Aiken to retract the critical comments or endorse the book on his official Web site, to write a positive introduction for the book and to sell the book at his concerts for at least five years.
