"Secret Lesbian Sex Threesomes" Libel Lawsuit Against Kentucky 2022 Teacher of the Year Can Go Forward

Here’s the exchange, from defendant’s declaration in Hart v. Carver (D. Md.):

And here’s the defendant’s account of the facts (which is considerably more detail than the account in the plaintiffs’ Complaint):

I was a classroom teacher in Kentucky from 2013 through 2022, and was the 2022 Kentucky Teacher of the Year. I am openly gay and left teaching due to the discrimination that I faced in the school system, including ultimately being publicly accused of “grooming” children simply because I advised a student-run LGBTQ+ group, “Open Light.”

I now work at the University of Kentucky, where I am finishing a Masters in Fine Arts at the University of Kentucky. I am also an author and have published poetry. My recent book, Gay Poems for Red States, a memoir in narrative poetry, was published by the University Press of Kentucky. Among other awards, it has been named Stonewall Award Winner, a 2024 Rainbow Award Book, and a Book Riot Best Book of 2023….

When I saw [a] message from “Kit Hart, American Girl,” I looked at her X profile and saw that she was a chapter chair of the Moms for Liberty group. Based on news reports, I am familiar with that group and its recent controversies.

After I was served a copy of the Complaint in this case in Kentucky, I “locked” my Tweet that is the subject of the claims in this case, so that it is no longer visible to the public. As of today, a total of 134 people in the entire world had viewed the Tweet, according to analytics on the X platform. Only 14 of those people “engaged” with it, which means they were interested enough to see the entire chain and replies.

Attached as Exhibit B is a true and correct copy of selected Tweets by “Kit Hart, American Girl,” that I identified that labeled LGBTQ+ individuals and supporters as “groomers” or similar terms.

The Harts sued for libel and invasion of privacy, and Friday’s decision by Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove Rubin (E.D. Ky.) in Hart v. Carver allowed Ms. Hart’s claim libel and false light invasion of privacy claims to go forward. The court concluded that the “belonging to a cult” claim is nonactionable opinion, but the implication of marital infidelity was actionable as to Ms. Hart (though wasn’t sufficiently of and concerning Mr. Hart to allow him to sue). There’s also a bit of discussion of the legal significance of “y’all”:

Plaintiffs appear to allege that Carver’s tweet defamed both Mrs. Hart and Mr. Hart because it used the term “y’all.” Certainly it’s plausible that, because the tweet was directed at Ms. Hart and phrased in the second person, the tweet was about her. But the Harts’ Amended Complaint provides no explanation as to why the tweet would also be referring to Ms. Hart’s husband. They don’t allege, for example, that Carver tagged Mr. Hart in the tweet. And because they don’t explain the context surrounding the tweet, so far as the court is aware, the direct object “y’all” could refer to anyone with whom Ms. Hart associates.

The court doesn’t opine on whether, in context, the accusation of homosexuality could itself be defamatory, because it concludes that the accusation also alleged adultery:

For the purposes of this case, the court need not decide whether an accusation of homosexuality would tend to “bring a person into public hatred, contempt or ridicule; cause him to be shunned or avoided; or injure him in his business or occupation.” Here, the statement about “secret lesbian sex threesomes” could plausibly be construed as a statement that Ms. Hart has engaged in adultery. Because an allegation of adultery is defamatory per se, Ms. Hart’s defamation claim based on the “secret lesbian sex threesome” statement survives a motion to dismiss….

Note that “lesbian threesome” may be a reference to a real controversy involving a Moms for Liberty cofounder (though not Hart herself). From Newsweek (Thomas Kika) in Dec. 2023:

Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler’s admission to having a sexual relationship with the woman accusing her husband of rape has sparked backlash online Saturday, with many labeling the Florida political leader a hypocrite.

Bridget Ziegler’s husband, Christian Ziegler, is the head of the Florida Republican Party and is currently embroiled in a sexual assault investigation. On Friday, it was reported that an unnamed woman claiming to be a friend of the Zieglers filed a report with the Sarasota Police in early October claiming that Christian Ziegler had come to her apartment and raped her, after a planned threesome between the victim and the couple fell through after Bridget Ziegler became busy at the last minute….

As revealed in recently released court documents, Bridget Ziegler was interviewed by investigators in early November, confirming that she, her husband, and the victim had been friends and had engaged in a consensual sexual encounter roughly a year prior to the assault that the victim now alleges….

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