Singer Mariah Carey has responded to her brother’s defamation lawsuit saying it was in the public interest for her to talk about him in her 2020 memoir.
Earlier this year Mariah’s elder brother, Morgan Carey filed a lawsuit against the singer claiming she featured ‘malicious falsehoods’ about him in her book, ‘The Meaning of Mariah Carey’ which she published last year.
Morgan accused Mariah of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional stress following the release of her book in which the singer narrates a vicious fight between her father and brother and also said her brother was institutionalized when he was younger.
In the book Mariah also said she has ‘never felt safe’ around her ‘troubled brother’ because of his ‘unpredictable’ behavior.
Mariah has now, responded to her brother’s lawsuit through papers filed at the Manhattan Supreme Court and says her claims were not defamatory since the message of her book is her personal struggles and triumph over adversity which is of public interest.
The 51-year-old star suggested that since she is famous and wants to encourage young people who are also facing difficult upbringing this automatically becomes of public interest.
“The story of Ms. Carey’s rise from a dysfunctional and sometimes violent family environment has significant value, particularly to any young person who may find her/himself stuck in a similar harsh and dispiriting circumstances and who can benefit from the inspiration to employ their talents in pursuit of their dreams,” read court papers obtained by Page Six.
In his lawsuit, Mariah’s brother said since the publication of the memoir, he has, ‘suffered extreme mental anguish, outrage, severe anxiety about his future and his ability to support himself and his family, harm to his reputation and his earning capacity, embarrassment, among his friends and associates, disruption of his personal life and loss of enjoyment of the ordinary pleasures of everyday life.”
Morgan did not specify how much he seeks from the lawsuit but is looking to undo damages through ‘judicial determination.’
