There is this person who I really hate for something she did to a friend of mine. I have written some rap lyrics (I’m an MC) to “dis” her. I don’t say her name in the lyrics, but to anyone who knows the situation, it’s clear it is about her.
I say some things about her, like me wanting to kill her (I don’t really want to do this, but that’s not the point). Could she sue me if I release this song or even perform it live?
She also used to work at McDonalds. In this song, I call her a “McDonanlds bitch” or something like that. Can McDonalds sue me for saying this?
(I know calling dissing isn’t nice, but she really really deserves it. Trust me.)
There’s nothing magical about lyrics. If it would be an actionable defamation in a letter or a newspaper article or a speech, then it’s an actionable defamation in the lyrics of a song.
Saying you want to kills somebody, or calling them a bitch, is not in itself an actionable defamation. However the statements in your lyric about why you want to kill them, or the inferences that might be drawn on that subject, may be actionable.
UDS
[Walks away humming Carly Simon’s “You’re so vain”.]
Can’t I say it’s entirely fictional since I didn’t even use her name? It is obvious it is about her, but it could also be about a fictional character that did the exact same things that she did…
Nope. If somebody who hears the song reasonably thinks it refers to her, whether you intended it to refer to her is irrelevant. Even if you genuinely had never heard of her, and defame her entirely by accident, you would still have defamed her.
On the other hand, if you’re in a position to prove that what you are saying or implying about her is true, that would be a good defence to any action she might bring.
If, as an artist, you want to create a piece about the pain of betrayal (like Carly Simon) then you can write a piece that details the events but doesn’t identify the parties, or allow the hearer to do so (like Carly Simon). Voila! You’re safe. Those who already know the parties and the facts will know what you’re talking about, but presumably they already think that the person in question is a shit and you haven’t told them anything they didn’t already know, so you won’t have defamed the person in question.
If, on the other hand, your desire here is to acheive justice or revenge and to punish this woman by publicising the facts more widely, then obviously you have to include details in the song which will identify her, and you have to say nasty things about her which will tend to lower her in the estimation of those who hear the song. If that is so, you have defamed her. You’re only defence has got to be justification, that what you are saying is true, and you’d better be in a position to prove that.
I don’t tlak about the actual events in detail, but I mention them.
This girl told the police a friend of mine raped her. But he didn’t (really, I could give you a lot of proof that he didn’t, and the police also believes him, and I also know this guy too well, he wouldn’t do this - she’s just a fake). So yeah, I mention something among the lines of “why the hell did you make up that rape story”. Appart from that, I avoid talking about the actual events, and I don’t desribe her.
I would post the lyrics, but they’re Dutch so it wouldn’t be very helpful. But I guess I’m relatively safe…
If the lyics are in Dutch I guess you’d be pretty safe in the US. OTOH, if you are in Dutchland then you better find out what the law is there because the laws of the US do not apply there.
Then what about Southpark? They seem to get away with a lot by using a disclaimer stating that any silimarities are coïncidental (sp?) - so in other words they say it is not intentional.
in the US different rules apply to defaming celebrities and others already in the public eye
many people choose not to pursue what would be a good claim for defamation because pursuing it involves giving greater and more prolonged publicity to the defamatory statement, and
“mere vulgar abuse”, satire and spoof are generally not regarded as defamation; people are not expected to take them seriously.
The “any resemblance is coincidental” statement may help in some very marginal situations. Suppose that in a film I make a statement defamatory of, say, Joe Black of New York City. You think to yourself “hey, could this be a thinly-veiled reference to my neighbour Joe Brown of New York City, whose circumstances are quite similar to those of Joe Black in the film?” Joe Brown is not somebody famous. The idea is that you will see the disclaimer and conclude “nah, it’s just a coincidence”. Or, to be more precise, the idea is that when Joe Brown sues me I can argue that a reasonable viewer of the film, even one who knew Joe Brown, would not think that I was referring to Joe Brown, in part because of the disclaimer. This argument is obviously strengthened if Joe Brown is nobody special, and you would not expect him to be referred to in the movies. But if I create a character called “Jefferson W Flinton”, a Democratic President of the United States who has oral sex with interns, is impeached by Congress and takes heroin in the oval office, the “any resemblance is coincidental” statement will be no help to me when Bill Clinton sues for suggesting that he took heroin in the oval office.
Don’t forget, for all of the above, if the allegation is true it’s not libel even if it has a negative affect on someone’s reputation within the community. E.g. If I say “UDS boinks sheep!” but I have no proof or corroboration, then you can sue me for libel/slander etc. But if in fact you do boink sheep, you can’t complain because it’s a fact.
You may not want anyone to know about your private, barnyard life, and the public release of this information may be quite damaging to your reputation, but as long as I can back-up my claim with factual evidence (like with explicit photos of you and that lovely, wooly Lambchops, or sworn eyewitness accounts) then you have no cause of action for a libel/slander suit. (You may however, try to pursue other legal venues such as invasion of privacy – though I don’t now how far you’d get.)
Disclaimer: This entire sheep scenario was entirely hypothetical in nature. In no way do I intend to allege that UDS either boinks or does not boink sheep or any other barnyard animal.
As for song lyrics, do NOT under any circumstances use the person’s real name, that’ll just get you into hot water for all sorts of reasons.
Well, this may be hairsplitting but, as I understand it, the statement would be libel, but you would have a good defence. If I sued you and proved that you made the statement and that it tended to lower me in the eyes of members of the public, I’d have established that you libelled me (and, if the trial stopped there, I would win). If you then presented evidence to show that the statement was true, you’d still have libelled me but you would have shown that you were justified in doing so.
If falsehood were an integral part of the concept of libel, then in addition to proving that you made the statement and that it damaged me I would have to prove that the statement was false and, if I couldn’t do that, I would lose the case. You wouldn’t have to present any evidence at all.
I could go down and file suit myself against eminem,but I know it would be a wast of time.And I’d prolly be admonished by the judge and pay a court fee…
In general, Dutch law is quite different from U.S. law (as is most European law - with the exception of British law) - oh, and for you nitpickers, let’s leave Louisiana out of this. A quick Google on “Netherlands defamation law” came up with:
" Public defamation is described in article 261 CC as follows:1. " he who intentionally injures the reputation or good name of another by accusinghim of certain facts, with the apparent aim of making such facts known, is guilty ofpublic defamation, punishable by a maximum of 6 months in prison or fl. 10.000 fine."2. …3. “no offence has occurred if the perpetrator of such defamation…acted in good faiththat the facts were true and that a public interest required making them known”.
You should do your own search, and maybe go to the library and leaf through both the Burgerlijk Wetboek and the Strafwetboek.
Better yet, don’t get involved at all. Much safer, much less likely to cause regrets 10 years from now when it turns out she was right after all. But that’s your call. I am not a lawyer, and I didn’t even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
It’s either Belgium or the Netherlands - in my case Belgium.