Can you be held libel if you call someone a misspelled, nasty name on Twitter? We don't know, but it could cost you several hundred thousand dollars to settle out of court.
That's what happened to Courtney Love. Back in March 2009, Love ranted on the social network about fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir, calling her "a 52 year old desperate cokes [sic] ass" and a "nasty, lying, hosebag thief." It was apparently an argument over some clothes, says Valleywag.
Simorangkir then sued Love for defamation. This would be a precedent-setting case, and as Valleywag points out,
"Just how seriously, exactly, one was to take the late-night brainfarts of an addled celebrity. And we were so looking forward to the debate over whether "hosebag thief" could be considered an implied factual statement, and whether everyone who retweeted Love might be guilty of libel."
None of these things will be determined upon the settlement, which cost Love $430,000.
Now we have to wait for Charlie Sheen to go off the rails one night and see if he gets sued.
