Reference no: EM131657192

Question: James Albright began working as a bodyguard for Madonna in 1992. From that year until 1994, Albright was involved in a romantic relationship with the famous singer. Many details about this relationship, including its sexual aspects, appeared in a 2000 book about Madonna. The book, written by Andrew Morton, also contained a photograph of Madonna walking with a man. The photograph's caption identified the man as "Jimmy Albright" and stated that Albright had been Madonna's "secret lover and onetime bodyguard." The same picture later appeared in other books and magazines, with the man consistently being identified as Albright. However, the man pictured with Madonna was not Albright. Instead, the man was Jose Guitierez, another former employee of Madonna. Albright filed a defamation lawsuit against author Morton, the publisher of Morton's book, and the publishers of the books and magazines in which the photograph later appeared. According to Albright's complaint, Guitierez was a homosexual who "clearly represents his homosexual ideology in what many would refer to as sometimes graphic and offensive detail." Albright contended that the incorrect association of his name with what was actually a picture of Guitierez would convey the erroneous impression that he (Albright) was gay. Did Albright state a valid claim for defamation?