‘Shady pervert’ author’s case rejected

Scarlett Johansson at the premiere of 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' at El Capitan theatre in Hollywood on March 13, 2014. Photo: Mario Anzuoni

Scarlett Johansson at the premiere of 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' at El Capitan theatre in Hollywood on March 13, 2014. Photo: Mario Anzuoni

Published Jul 11, 2014

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A French court rejected a case brought against Scarlett Johansson by an author who accused the Hollywood star of slander after she called him a “pervert”, according to a written decision seen by AFP on Thursday.

This is the second ruling made over the past eight days involving the actress and Gregoire Delacourt, whose book ‘The First Thing We Look At’ tells the story of a Johansson look-a-like who is treated as a sex object but finds love with a mechanic who resembles “a better version” of Canadian actor Ryan Gosling.

A court ruled earlier this month that the book infringed on the star's privacy and ordered the French author to pay her 2 500 euros (about R36 495) in damages.

He in turn had sued Johansson for slander after she hit out at him in an interview with Vanity Fair last year.

“Who is this shady pervert? A misogynous nutcase? I don't believe it. It's like a French version of 'Fifty Shades of Grey'. Help!” she told the glossy magazine.

But the court ruled that while Johansson's reaction was “brutal and expressed in vivid terms”, it could be “excused by discontent and irritation” following publication last year of the novel, which has sold 100,000 copies.

Delacourt has been sentenced to pay 2,000 euros in legal costs to the actress and to Vanity Fair. - AFP

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