Despite Morgan Freeman?s claims that CNN committed ?journalistic malpractice? and defamed him with a May 24 story in which eight women accused the actor of inappropriate behavior, the Oscar-winning star may not have much of a legal case.
While Freeman?s lawyers on Tuesday demanded a retraction, legal experts told TheWrap that the actor would face an uphill battle pursuing the matter in court.
?A public figure like a movie star is going to have an especially difficult time because they have to prove a high level of recklessness in doing this story,? Frank LoMonte, a media law professor at the University of Florida and director of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, told TheWrap. ?They?re almost going to have to prove it was a purposeful hit job.?
He explained that First Amendment protections have led to a ?purposefully high bar? for public figures to win defamation cases. ?The Supreme Court has made it intentionally hard for an internationally famous person to recover damages from a media organization,?
