Is it legal to publish a fictional story that bashes real life celebrities?

Answer 1

First, a publisher would be very reluctant to do this unless their lawyers vetted everything.

If you publish bashings, and they are clearly stated as your opinion then they may get around libel and slander laws.

Best thing to do is let your publisher's lawyer figure it out.

Answer 2

Celebs have a legal right in and to their name. So there are 2 legal issues here. First is the intellectual property right. If you are using their name to earn money, then they have a right to royaltys or can ask for an injunction. After all you are planning on trading in on their fame. Character Paris Smith is not as engaging to a reader at the start as, say, Paris Hilton.

Second, publishing false stories about real people is considered libel. So you can be sued for character defamation, even if you put in a clause that "all events are ficticious", because it knowingly construes their name/identity in a negative and false light. Knowing that the material is ficticious also eliminates the defense of the story being "true".

So without either permission of the celeb or the story being true, it's not legal to publish a fictional story bashing real life celebrities.

Answer 3

I think that you could write a fictional story as long as you make disclaimer that that it is fictional story. Even when you write about Mr Jones you usually would say that the character is fictional and do not resemble any one particular.
Defamation law in the United States gives strong protection to freedom of expression, which arose from the tradition of dissent in the American Revolution. In 1960s case of New York Times v. Sullivan, in which the Supreme Court of the United States modified the law of libel to be in accord with constitutional requirements. The court held that where a public figure was defamed, the plaintiff had to prove not just that an untruthful statement was made, but also that it was made with actual malice - that is, that it was made knowing it to be false or with reckless disregard for the truth. This decision and the ones that followed its lead created a major revolution in the doctrine of libel law. Writing fictional story would have to be with intention to hurt the celebrity.

Answer 4

No, to intentionally publish something that's not true is defamation - an attack on character that can harm someone. And you will get sued (like that ABC 9/11 show) You need express permission. You can have 'similar' people though.

Answer 5

No it isn't. The thing that most fictional writers do is they change the names around to make the story about those people, but by simply using fictional names.

Answer 6

I wouldn't recommend using their real names. Accusations of libel and defamation are expensive to fight in a court of law.
I'd just change the names to leave people guessing ("The pop princess with the wanna-be rapper husband" doesn't name names, but I think we can all guess who that might be.)

Answer 7

If you use their real names, or describe them so that it is obvious who is being talked about, bashing them, even in fiction is bringing their name into disrepute, and if not illegal (though I think it is is some countries) they will sue for damages and win.

Answer 8

relies upon what your comedian is approximately, the character personalities, etc. it would be cool if the story is fiction, yet has a non-fiction putting. (As in cities, shops, etc.) And non-fiction tale with fictional putting.

Answer 9

If you are using their names, you have to have their permission. You should change the names around and note them as fictional characters if you want to avoid being sued..

Answer 10

You could get sued for defamation (sp?) of character. If you have their permission though, I don't think it's illegal.