Heath Ledger Drug Tape Video Case Finally Over
The attorney for the former 'People' magazine reporter who recorded the tape and later sued to get it destroyed, did not disclose terms of the arrangement but did confirm the "matter has been resolved" after more than a year. The reporter, identified in papers only as 'Jane Doe', alleged in her suit that a friend befriended Ledger during a party she was covering at Chateau Marmont hotel offered him cocaine. She alleged they brought him to her hotel room and then secretly taped the two of them as they talked about drug use. After Ledger's death last January from an accidental overdose a year ago, the agency sold the tape to news outlets and blurred the woman's face before distributing the video. 'Entertainment Tonight' bought rights to the video with plans to air part of the footage and even showed a teaser, however, after plenty of pressure from other celebrities and publicists eventually backed out. The woman argued that her privacy was breached, even though her face was blurred, but a judge sided with the agency. An amended version of the lawsuit was lodged on September 18 and that is the case that has been settled. Although the tape, in which Ledger is heard talking about his wife and daughter and prior drug use, wasn't officially distributed, the aired teaser surfaced on various news programs and can still be seen as part of our original story.
The legal battle over a video that showed Heath Ledger doing drugs two years before his death has finally ended.
January 21, 2009 | |
