Diana Jenkins’ lawyers have responded to a bid by the operator of the “Crazy Days and Nights” gossip blog to dismiss her defamation suit filed in November by filing new court papers seeking information on the blogger’s identity as well as his efforts to ensure the published information was accurate.
Jenkins is a former cast member of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” She alleges in her suit filed Nov. 2 in Van Nuys Superior Court that the blogger, Enty Lawyer, has repeatedly defamed her with false allegations, including that she has engaged in sex trafficking of children, coerced vulnerable celebrities into prostitution, was associated with the late Jeffrey Epstein and that she committed money laundering and statutory rape.
On Jan. 5, Enty Lawyer’s attorney, Kenneth P. White, filed court papers with Judge Shirley K. Watkins seeking dismissal of Jenkins’ lawsuit with an anti-SLAPP motion, maintaining that the complaint infringes on his client’s First Amendment rights.
But on Tuesday, Jenkins’ lawyers filed a motion seeking discovery about Enty Lawyer to successfully oppose the anti-SLAPP motion. Jenkins is justified in seeking Enty Lawyer’s identity because his anonymity “deprives Jenkins of the ability to respond to his motion by challenging the basis for his statements and, relatedly, his actual malice,” the plaintiff’s attorneys further argue in their court papers.
Additionally, the plaintiff’s attorneys want Watkins to give them information and evidence regarding Enty Lawyer’s use of anonymous sources as the basis for his allegedly false and defamatory statements about Jenkins, including his investigation and vetting of those sources.
Jenkins’ lawyers also want to know what investigation and research Enty Lawyer conducted before publishing the statements as well as information about his connections to the celebrities he has cited as sources for his statements about Jenkins.
“He portrays himself as a reliable source for celebrity news,” Jenkins’ lawyers state in their court papers. “He also says that he will not reveal information until he is 100% sure, indicating that he fact-checks and investigates his work.”
In Enty Lawyer’s sworn declaration filed in support of his anti-SLAPP motion, he does not indicate that he conducted any vetting of the anonymous source that allegedly linked Jenkins to Epstein, the plaintiff’s lawyers state in their court papers. The Jenkins lawyers say that failing to properly investigate shows possible malice on his part, which Jenkins must prove because she is a public figure.
In the declaration, Enty Lawyer says he has about 90,000 followers on Twitter and that he is not perfect.
“I have sometimes gotten stories wrong,” Enty Lawyer says.
Enty Lawyer says his November 2021 tweet about Jenkins and Epstein was based on a photo he saw of Epstein, former President Trump and a “laughing woman” whom he previously believed was Jenkins.
A hearing on the Jenkins motion is scheduled April 12.