Citing free-speech grounds, Hilary Duff is seeking dismissal of libel and slander claims filed against her by a photographer who alleges the actress made derogatory comments about him after he photographed her son and other children at a park in 2020, damaging his reputation.
In his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, plaintiff Darryl Wilkins says he encountered the “Cheaper by the Dozen” star in a public park on Feb. 22, 2020.
Wilkins contends the actress asked him not to photograph young children, including her then-7-year-old son, as they played soccer and that Duff called him, among other pejorative terms, a “child predator.”
Duff, now 35, recorded the encounter with Wilkins on her cellphone and posted the video to her Instagram page, where it became publicly disseminated and reported in the celebrity news media, with a portion being played during the “Hot Topics” segment of an episode of “The Wendy Williams Show” discussing celebrity news.
“Such purported comments by Duff, including plaintiff allegedly being a child predator, were made in a place open to the public or a public forum … open to the use of the general public for purposes of assembly, communicating thoughts between citizens and discussing public questions) in connection with an issue of public interest,” according to an anti-SLAPP motion filed Wednesday with Judge Upinder S. Kalra by the actress’ attorneys.
The state’s anti-SLAPP — Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation — law is intended to prevent people from using courts, and potential threats of a lawsuit, to intimidate those who are exercising their First Amendment rights.
“By allegedly calling plaintiff a child predator both in the public park … and thereafter on social media and in television appearances, Duff participated in, and furthered, the discourse about child predators approaching minor children in public, and the issues surrounding the increased aggressiveness of paparazzi and they relate to celebrities, including their children,” the motion states.
Moreover, Duff’s alleged remarks about Wilkins were “nothing more than her opinion of what plaintiff was doing when he was taking photographs of Duff’s children” and expressions of opinion are not defamatory, according to the motion, which is scheduled for hearing Oct. 12.