Fantasia’s father sues publisher
The father of “American Idol” winner Fantasia Barrino has filed a $10-million libel suit against the publisher of a book about his daughter, alleging that it contains “false, exaggerated, sensational, intentional and malicious untruths.”
In papers filed this week in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Joseph Barrino is seeking damages from Simon & Schuster, which released “Fantasia: Life Is Not a Fairy Tale” in 2005. The book was made into a TV movie, starring Fantasia, that aired on the Lifetime network in August.
Among the details disputed by Joseph Barrino: that he was hostile to the music industry, that he asks his daughter for money when she visits him, that his children’s musical careers were more important than their education.
A spokesman for Simon & Schuster declined to comment on the suit.
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