Judge Dismisses Lady Paree's Lawsuit Against Facebook

HOUSTON, Texas—Though she made only 36 features between 1991 and 1997, the busty actress known as Lady Paree was fairly well-known in the adult industry, working for such companies as Leisure Time Entertainment, Heatwave Entertainment and Zane Entertainment Group. But one thing's for sure: She definitely wasn't transgender, as one Facebook poster claimed, and the Lady was upset enough about the branding that she filed a lawsuit against Facebook to have the comments taken down. In fact, Lady Paree had filed a lawsuit against Leisure Time several years ago charging that company officials had made the same claim, but in that suit, she had hired a doctor to examine her and put the lie to the claim of transgenderism—evidence she introduced in the current lawsuit. Trouble was, according to U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon, Paree didn't make her complaints about the comment to the proper department at Facebook, and rather than amend the suit (since once sued, Facebook had to be aware of the complaints and could have directed them to the proper department itself), the judge simply dismissed it. Another problem with the dismissal: The judge failed to use the proper legal standard, claiming that Facebook is similar to a newspaper, and according to an article on the Houston Chronicle's website, "Facebook retained the right to decide what to publish and what not to publish on its platform." "The choice of material to go into a newspaper and the decisions made as to limitations on the size and content of the paper, and treatment of public issues and public officials—whether fair or unfair—constitute the exercise of editorial control and judgment," the judge said. Minor problem: If a statement is in fact libelous, it doesn't matter what media publishes it, it's still actionable once the publisher has been made aware of it and fails to take it down. The company did take them down after six months, but Paree sued, stating that by then, the damage had been done, and one of the issues before the court was whether Facebook had honored its promise to users that it would take down hostile and defamatory comments. In her lawsuit, Paree claimed that the comments stating that she is transgender amounted to hate speech, and further claimed that the comments damaged her reputation, causing her emotional pain and suffering and made it more difficult for her to make a living. She also tried to sue the poster of the comments, one "Kyle Anders," who claimed that Paree used to be an NFL running back, but that appears to be a pseudonym and she was unable to locate the actual person with in the legally mandated time limit for him to remain a defendant in the suit. No word yet on whether Paree will appeal the judge's ruling, but as things now stand, she is responsible for her own attorney fees and costs. Pictured, l-r: Lady Paree and Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg.