Mariah Carey has won a legal victory after a New York judge dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by her brother, Morgan Carey, who accused the Grammy-winning singer of making false and damaging claims about him in her 2020 memoir, “The Meaning of Mariah Carey.”
The book debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times best-seller list for Hardcover Nonfiction and Combined Print & E-book Nonfiction.
Sibling Lawsuit
Morgan, 66, sued his sister in 2021, alleging that the book falsely portrayed him as a violent man and drug dealer with a criminal history. He claimed the allegations damaged his reputation, caused severe emotional distress and cost him professional opportunities.
In the memoir, Carey, 57, described Morgan as a “sometimes drug dealing, been-in-the-system, drunk-ass brother” and referred to him as her “ex-brother.” She also recounted alleged incidents of violence involving Morgan and their father, including a confrontation she said required police intervention.
Morgan, who has also been described as a former model and fitness trainer, denied the allegations, arguing that the passages were false and defamatory. He also claimed that Carey’s descriptions of him as violent and involved in drug dealing unfairly damaged his public image.
The lawsuit faced significant setbacks in 2022, when a judge dismissed 14 of Morgan’s 16 claims and threw out all claims against the memoir’s publisher, Macmillan. However, the court allowed certain defamation claims to proceed, including those concerning allegations that Morgan sold cocaine in the 1980s and had “been in the system.”
Morgan later amended his complaint, seeking damages related to the alleged cancellation of a film he co-wrote. He claimed a producer backed out because of concerns about upsetting Carey and sought compensation for the lost project, along with additional damages for emotional distress.
In the latest ruling, Judge Leslie A. Stroth dismissed Morgan’s complaint, finding that he had not sufficiently demonstrated that Carey knew the statements were false or recklessly disregarded the truth when writing them.
The judge also rejected Morgan’s argument that his sister’s alleged ill will toward him established the required level of actual malice. Under the legal standard applied to his claims, allegations of personal hostility alone were insufficient, The Guardian reported.
Morgan’s attorney, Richard Roth, told Variety that he planned to appeal the decision.
Carey’s sister, Alison Carey, also took issue with the memoir. In 2021, she filed a separate $1.25 million lawsuit accusing the singer of making what she called “cruel and outrageous allegations” about her in the book.
Among the claims, Mariah alleged that Alison had thrown hot tea on her, introduced her to drugs and placed her in dangerous situations during childhood. Alison denied the allegations and accused her sister of using her celebrity status to publicly humiliate her.
Alison did not pursue the lawsuit and died in 2024 at age 63, the same day as their mother, Patricia, according to a statement Mariah shared publicly.
