An LA judge has dismissed a libel suit brought by singer Britney Spears accusing a US magazine of fabricating a story about a sexually explicit video the pop star and her husband made together.
Judge Lisa Hart Cole found no basis for Spears’ claim that the magazine article about her was defamatory.
The suit, filed last year by Spears and her spouse, dancer Kevin Federline, sought $10 million in damages against Us Weekly over the article published October 2005.
According to the article, the celebrity couple had told their lawyers that "a member of their entourage had threatened to release raunchy footage" of them and that Spears feared that "an X-rated tape starring the two may go public."
The magazine also reported that Spears and Federline gave a copy of the tape to lawyers and watched it with them.
The judge said: "It is clear that plaintiff did not bring this lawsuit because she was falsely accused of acting goofy.
"The issue is whether it is defamatory to state that a husband and wife taped themselves engaging in consensual sex."
She concluded: "(Spears) put her modern sexuality squarely, and profitably, before the public eye", citing racy scenes in her 2005 reality TV show 'Britney and Kevin: Chaotic' as evidence.
