Decision of Note: <b>Madonna Bodyguard Loses Libel Suit Over Photo Caption</b>

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld the dismissal of a defamation suit by a former bodyguard of the musical artist Madonna who sued over a photograph of a gay man mistakenly captioned with the name of the bodyguard in a book about Madonna. Amtrak Productions Inc. v. Morton, 04-1449.

Former Madonna bodyguard and lover James Albright sued over the miscaptioning of a photograph of Madonna dancer Jose Guitierez, who Albright claimed was an “outspoken homosexual” who “often dressed as a woman.”

But the appeals court noted: “The miscaptioned photograph in the instant case is not reasonably susceptible of a defamatory meaning. Nothing in Guitierez's appearance, particularly given the accompanying caption stressing Albright's heterosexuality (eg, Madonna's 'secret lover'), gives any indication that Albright is homosexual. To draw such an inference, the reader ' who would have to view homosexuals with 'scorn, hatred, ridicule or contempt,' … must follow Madonna and her cohort closely enough to recognize Guitierez as a gay man, but not closely enough to know Guitierez's name or what Albright looks like. Few, if any, readers would fall into this 'considerable and respectable segment in the community.' ”

The appeals court added: “The context of the text accompanying the photograph further deflates any argument that the photo conveys a defamatory meaning. When we 'consider all the words used' in the accompanying text … including phrases such as Albright's 'long-time girlfriend,' his 'hot and heavy' affair with Madonna, their sexual encounters, and Albright's 'fling' with a 'girl at a club' ' we find that no reasonable reader could conclude that Albright is homosexual.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld the dismissal of a defamation suit by a former bodyguard of the musical artist Madonna who sued over a photograph of a gay man mistakenly captioned with the name of the bodyguard in a book about Madonna. Amtrak Productions Inc. v. Morton, 04-1449.

Former Madonna bodyguard and lover James Albright sued over the miscaptioning of a photograph of Madonna dancer Jose Guitierez, who Albright claimed was an “outspoken homosexual” who “often dressed as a woman.”

But the appeals court noted: “The miscaptioned photograph in the instant case is not reasonably susceptible of a defamatory meaning. Nothing in Guitierez's appearance, particularly given the accompanying caption stressing Albright's heterosexuality (eg, Madonna's 'secret lover'), gives any indication that Albright is homosexual. To draw such an inference, the reader ' who would have to view homosexuals with 'scorn, hatred, ridicule or contempt,' … must follow Madonna and her cohort closely enough to recognize Guitierez as a gay man, but not closely enough to know Guitierez's name or what Albright looks like. Few, if any, readers would fall into this 'considerable and respectable segment in the community.' ”

The appeals court added: “The context of the text accompanying the photograph further deflates any argument that the photo conveys a defamatory meaning. When we 'consider all the words used' in the accompanying text … including phrases such as Albright's 'long-time girlfriend,' his 'hot and heavy' affair with Madonna, their sexual encounters, and Albright's 'fling' with a 'girl at a club' ' we find that no reasonable reader could conclude that Albright is homosexual.”