Infamous Ex-American Idol Contestant Corey Clark -- $40M Lawsuit SHUT DOWN!
May 28 2014, Published 7:15 a.m. ET
An American Idol contestant who was kicked off the show after allegedly failing to disclose his arrest record has lost his $40 million defamation lawsuit against MTV, RadarOnline.com has learned.
A Tennessee judge dismissed Corey Clark's lawsuit against the network and Viacom International on May 13, under the basis that everything the companies claimed was true and Clark was wrong.
COURT DOCUMENTS: Former 'American Idol' Contestant Loses $40M Lawsuit
Clark, 33, initially filed the lawsuit in 2012 for defamation, claiming an MTV reporter repeatedly smeared his reputation by writing about his arrest for an alleged assault on his sister, using terms like "disqualified for lying about a hairy domestic dispute," "booted for concealing his arrest record on battery charges," and "booted for not disclosing his rap sheet."
Clark — who appeared on the talent show in 2003, also made headlines for an alleged affair with judge Paula Abdul — a claim he also vehemently denied in the lawsuit.
But Judge William J. Haynes, Jr. saw it otherwise and dismissed Clark's lawsuit, granting the Defendant's motion to dismiss.
"In addition to his libel claim, Plaintiff Clark alleges claims for false light invasion of privacy; commercial disparagement under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act; misappropriation of image or likeness — right of publicity; and negligent hiring and retention," the judge's memorandum reads.
Haynes made it clear that the allegations of Clark's record were "comments upon or characterizations of published facts," and were reported by other reputable news organizations including the Boston Herald, The Tennessean and the Chicago Sun-Times.
A pending legal lawsuit against E! Entertainment and FOX still hangs in the courts from Clark over statements made about why he was booted from the show and the alleged affair with Abdul.
Clark has also banded with a group of nine other former Idol contestants in a lawsuit against the show arguing racism against African-Americans.