Mariah Carey Wins Dismissal of Brother's Remaining Defamation Claims Over Bestselling Memoir
A New York judge has dismissed the remaining defamation claims brought by Morgan Carey against his sister, singer Mariah Carey, over her bestselling 2020 memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey, according to Billboard. In a ruling issued on October 19, New York Supreme Court Justice Leslie A. Stroth threw out the last surviving claims in the case, bringing the lengthy litigation to a close at the trial court level.
"Plaintiff fails to provide any proof that Defendant made such statements with knowledge of their falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth," Judge Stroth wrote, finding that Morgan had not met the "actual malice" standard required in defamation cases. Carey's attorney John Rosenberg told Billboard that the singer was "gratified" by the decision and by its implications for authors addressing matters of public interest. Morgan's lawyer, Richard Altman, confirmed plans to appeal, arguing that the judgment conflicts with earlier decisions in the case.
Morgan Carey first sued in March 2021 in New York, claiming the memoir falsely portrayed him as violent and as a drug dealer, damaging his reputation; the suit reportedly sought $10 million. In February 2022, Justice Barbara Jaffe dismissed all claims against the book's publishers — Macmillan's Henry Holt and Company, co-author Michaela Angela Davis, and Andy Cohen Books — under New York's anti-SLAPP law, and dismissed most of the claims against Carey herself. Only two passages survived: one implying that Morgan supplied cocaine to nightclub patrons, in which the book said he "discreetly supplied the beautiful people with their powdered party favors" and described him as "sometimes drug dealing," and another implying he had spent time in prison, describing him as having "been-in-the-system." New York's Appellate Division, First Department, upheld those dismissals in October 2023. In April 2024, the trial court denied Morgan's motion for summary judgment, finding genuine issues of fact as to the truth of the statements and whether there was actual malice. Morgan later sought to amend his lawsuit to add new claims, and the siblings fought over whether Carey should sit for a deposition; Carey has maintained throughout that the passages are true or substantially true, saying her mother told her Morgan had been dealing drugs.
The Meaning of Mariah Carey topped the New York Times bestseller list upon its release in 2020. Carey's late sister, Alison Carey, also sued the singer for $1.25 million over the book; Alison died in 2024, before that lawsuit was resolved.
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Photo: 图：Mariah Carey 2025年在菲律宾 SM Mall of Asia Arena 演出。Patrick Cristiano 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0（经 Wikimedia Commons）。Photo: Mariah Carey performing at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in 2025. By Patrick Cristiano, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
