Posted on 10/20/2003 11:10:25 AM PDT by LurkedLongEnough
A Macomb County Circuit Court judge has a message for Eminem's childhood bully DeAngelo Bailey: Rhyme doesn't pay.
Judge Deborah Servitto dismissed a $1 million defamation lawsuit against the rapper on Friday in Michigan, according to a court spokesperson. Servitto reasoned that because the verbal jabs at Bailey occurred within the context of song, they were not to be taken as fact.
Bailey, 32, filed the suit in December 2001 against Eminem, claiming that the song "Brain Damage," from the rapper's The Slim Shady LP, invaded his privacy and slandered him (see "Alleged Bully From Eminem's 'Brain Damage' Files $1 Million Suit"). Among the potentially damaging lines were, "I was harassed daily by this fat kid named DeAngelo Bailey / An eighth grader who acted obnoxious 'cause his father boxes/ So every day he'd shove me in the lockers/ One day he came in the bathroom while I was p---in'/ And had me in the position and beat me into submission."
Judge Servitto submitted a rap of her own as a footnote to her 13-page written opinion. "Mr. Bailey complains that his rep is trash/ So he's seeking compensation in the form of cash," she wrote. "Bailey thinks he's entitled to some monetary gain/ Because Eminem used his name in vain/ The lyrics are stories no one would take as fact/ They're an exaggeration of a childish act/ It is therefore this court's ultimate position/ That Eminem is entitled to summary disposition."
The dismissal comes just two days before a trial was set to begin.
I love it!
Bailey thinks he's entitled to some monetary gain
Because Eminem used his name in vain.
Eminem says Bailey used to throw him around
Beat him up in the john, shoved his face in the ground.
Eminem contends that his rap is protected
By the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.
Eminem maintains that the story is true
And that Bailey beat him black and blue.
In the alternative he states that the story is phony
And a reasonable person would think it's baloney.
The court must always balance the rights
Of a defendant and one placed in a false light.
If the plaintiff presents no question of fact
To dismiss is the only acceptable act.
If the language used is anything but pleasin'
It must be highly objectionable to a person of reason.
Even if objectionable and causing offense
Self-help is the first line of defense.
Yet when Bailey actually spoke to the press
what do you think he didn't address?
Those false-light charges that so disturbed
Prompted from Bailey not a single word.
So highly objectionable, it could not be
-- Bailey was happy to hear his name on a CD.
Bailey also admitted he was a bully in youth
Which makes what Marshall said substantial truth.
This doctrine is a defense well known
And renders Bailey's case substantially blown.
The lyrics are stories no one would take as fact
They're an exaggeration of a childish act.
Any reasonable person could clearly see
That the lyrics could only be hyperbole.
It is therefore this court's ultimate position
That Eminem is entitled to summary disposition.
Found here
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