Defamer Visits The Dark Underbelly Of The Marilyn Monroe Collectibles Circuit


So! Remember the Marilyn Monroe article we published on Tuesday, which poked some holes in Keya Morgan's (pictured, left) claims that he brokered the sale of an alleged sex tape to a wealthy (and still anonymous) businessman in New York for $1.5 million? Well, it turns out that Keya Morgan's attorneys were none too pleased about our piece. What follows is a back-and-forth between Keya Morgan's lawyer and Defamer's incomparable house counsel, Gaby Darbyshire. While we're not very interested in getting involved in squabbles between Keya Morgan and Mark Bellinghaus (apparently, there is some seriously bad blood between these two Marilyn Monroe fans), we do stand by the story that we printed on Tuesday night. For those that are interested in reading the chain of emails, they are printed in full after the jump.

From: "Bryant, Matthew" [REDACTED] Date: April 17, 2008 12:50:32 AM EDT To: legal@gawker.com Subject: http://defamer.com/380219/exclusive-debunking-the-marilyn-monroe-sex-tape-hoax

April 16, 2008

By Email
Gawker Media, Legal Department
76 Crosby Street
New York, NY 10012
legal@gawker.com

Re: http://defamer.com/380219/exclusive-debunking-the-marilyn-monroe-sex-tape-hoax

Dear Sir or Madam:

I write on behalf of Keya Morgan in reference to the above-referenced post on www.Defamer.com authored, apparently, in part by Mr. Mark Bellinghaus and the website itself. Please be advised that Mr. Morgan has filed a report today with Precinct 20 of the New York City Police Department in regard to recent threats Mr. Bellinghaus' made on Keya Morgan's life in the wake of Mr. Morgan's recent successful $1.5 million brokerage-sale of a Marilyn Monroe film as reported by Reuters, The New York Post and CBS, NBC and Fox. Mr. Morgan naturally will protect himself and his business to the full extent of the law.

Further, Mr. Bellinghaus' recent publication of the above-referenced defamatory post on www.defamer.com constitutes defamation per se and subject its authors and related internet content providers, such as www.defamer.com and Gawker Media, to civil liability under New York and federal law. Mr. Morgan is a distinguished internationally-recognised manuscript and artifact expert. He has built an impeccable reputation over a decade. Mr. Bellinghaus' challenges to the film's authenticity are based on false information, self-serving analysis and speculation. Neither he nor any of his colleagues interviewed Mr. Morgan. Mr. Morgan authenticated the film based on his interviews with the owner, the son of an FBI informant, the FBI analyst who worked on the film, and his personal review of declassified documents and the film itself. Mr. Morgan's reputation and expertise speaks for itself. Mr. Bellinghaus' allegations that Mr. Morgan is engaging in a fantasy PR campaign are absurd and, most importantly, by his own admission backed up by no evidence whatsoever.

As stated, Mr. Morgan will protect his reputation and business to the full extent of the law. Please find a copy of our cease and desist letter to Mr. Bellinghaus of even date. Please retract and cease any publication of defamatory matter from Mr. Bellinghaus.

Very truly yours,

Matt Bryant
Ohrenstein & Brown
[REDACTED]
Garden City, New York 11530


—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—--
From: Gaby Darbyshire
To: "Bryant, Matthew"
Date: Thu, Apr 17, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Subject: Re: http://defamer.com/380219/exclusive-debunking-the-marilyn-monroe-sex-tape-hoax

Mr Bryant,

I simply do not accept that anything written in this piece is libellous. Our source is willing to state under oath that they spoke with Mr Morgan last year and that he told them the things stated as coming from him in the article. This piece is simply a detailed analysis of the claims made by your client regarding this tape, and the writers' view of whether those claims are supported by the evidence. That's called reporting. Your client may not like the conclusions drawn, but this country believes in free speech, last I checked. The material is a matter of opinion, strongly held for sure, but not a matter of libel.

If you can point me to any facts stated that are provable incontrovertibly as facts and not mere opinion, then - as I have said - we are willing to print a statement from your client to clarify his position on those specific points. I've already offered to do that over the age of your client (provable fact, but not libellous) and his denial of making any dating claims (not provable, and not libellous either, but if your client cares about this, I'm happy to do it).

Beyond such minor clarifications, either we accept that people of strong conviction and passion for a subject can vehemently disagree about events and their interpretation of events, let them as grown-ups debate their side of the argument in a public forum as experts in their domain, and let the public decide which version they choose to believe - or we can take this matter to the courts and hash through it all there.

I'm happy to do either. Mr Morgan must decide how he wants to proceed.

Regards,

******************************************
Gaby Darbyshire
VP, Finance & Legal, Gawker Media

******************************************


—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-
From: "Bryant, Matthew"
Date: April 17, 2008 5:05:39 PM EDT
To: "Gaby Darbyshire"
Subject: RE: http://defamer.com/380219/exclusive-debunking-the-marilyn-monroe-sex-tape-hoax

Dear Ms. Darbyshire:

Thank you for your response to my letter sent yesterday on behalf of Keya Morgan. At this juncture, I advise you to seek counsel from Gawker Media's in-house attorney or, in if no such person exists, seek outside counsel.

From the outset, Defamer.com, Mark Bellinghaus and Gawker Media are accusing my client of fraud. Your headline boasts, as fact, that the film is a "hoax." The apparent editor asserts, as fact, that it was "fabricated." My client is a business man and well respected manuscript and artifact expert. Your website has not only impugned my client's honesty, integrity and profession, but has accused him of committing fraud. This is defamation, not reporting.

It should be noted that while Mr. Morgan embraces the "market place" of ideas, the freedom of the press has always ended at the expense of a third-party's rights. There is little room for an organisation doing business as "defamer.com" to hide behind the legitimate press' cloak of freedom. Your self-described "Marilyn Monroe Expert" (Mark Bellinghaus) has well-documented history. Most recently, he threatened to blow up my client's home and stab him. I have personally spoken to Detective Banville of the NYPD's 1st Precinct; Mr. Morgan's policy report number is 2008-001-02543. If Mr. Bellinghaus is found in NYC, he will likely be arrested. His rantings can be viewed by any reporter wishing to verify him as a source at www.marilynmonroeforall.com as a "cyber-harasser" and self-proclaimed Monroe expert. Your website relies on this man as an expert and touts, as fact, his warped conclusions founded in delusion and animosity. We believe goes well beyond mere defamation and constitutes harassment or criminal menacing. For the record, your claim that this is legitimate reporting rings false — Mr. Morgan adamantly denies ever granting an interview to any such self-proclaimed experts. Further, your reporters cannot even ascertain Mr. Morgan's correct age and the allegations regarding his romantic goings-on are simply false and inserted to further harass and injury my client's business and personal reputation.

Unlike other recent on-line defamation cases where anonymous users post on third-party interactive web-sites, defamer.com controls its own web-site and contributed to this content by identifying these alleged expert sources citing their conclusions as fact. We again invite you to seek legal counsel and protect your own business' interests by distancing yourself from Mr. Bellinghaus and his cohorts. Feel free to post this letter as Mr. Morgan's reply to your invitation below.

Very truly yours,

Matt Bryant
Ohrenstein & Brown
[REDACTED]
Garden City, New York 11530

UPDATE (April 18, 2:36pm):: Here is a link to a statement Mark Bellinghaus made on his blog in regards to Mr. Bryant's letters to us.

9:30 AM on Fri Apr 18 2008
by Mark Graham

29 comments

ADVERTISEMENT

Comments

View: AU Comments (0) | US Comments (29 comments)

 

There are currently no AU comments for this entry.

 

Post a comment!

Defamer Australia moderates all comments to avoid spam and abuse. We're looking for comments that are interesting, substantial and/or highly amusing. So write a comment, polish up your words and complete your details below. Your comment will only appear if it is approved.