It looks like the squeaky clean image of American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken is being put to the test by allegations of one woman.
The author of the so called unauthorized tribute to Clay Aiken is filing charges against the singer and claiming that he has defamed her reputation and conspired with others in order to limit the sales of her book.
The plaintiff, Jeannie Holleman, 50, claims that she is a lifelong friend and neighbor of a Raleigh family that were good friends with Faye Parker who is Aiken?s mother, and took her in when she and her young son departed and left her abusive husband.
Holleman?s book, published in 2005, is called “Out of the Blue ‘Clay’ it Forward”. The book contains interviews from the McGhee family, as well as Holleman?s own recollections and is interspersed with stories that came from Aiken?s fans.
In the lawsuit, which was filed last Friday in Wake County Superior Court, Holleman claims that Aiken, his mother as well as other individuals conspired to defame her and bring the sales down of her book by denying that they knew her, branding the stories in the book as lies and also demeaning the book on various websites dedicated to Aiken.
The lawsuit also claims that one of Aiken?s bodyguards manhandled Holleman at a fundraiser held in Hawaii.
The lawsuit seeks at least $260,000 in damages and asks the court to order Aiken to retract his comments, endorse the book on his official website, write a positive introduction to the book and sell the book at Aiken?s concerts for at least five years.
Originally posted on August 7, 2006 @ 3:00 am