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R. Kelly Assistant’s Defamation Lawsuit Over ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ Documentary Dismissed By Judge

R. Kelly’s assistant's defamation lawsuit against Netflix and Lifetime, over her portrayal in "Surviving R. Kelly," was dismissed by a federal judge.

The lawsuit from Diana Copeland, who says she worked for Kelly for more than a decade, claimed that the doc series “depicts her in a sinister and defamatory light” – including falsely suggesting that she had helped the now-convicted singer prey on young women. Later that same year, the singer was indicted by federal prosecutors on a slew of criminal charges, eventually resulting in convictions on racketeering, sex trafficking and child pornography and decades-long prison sentences. But in Tuesday’s decision dismissing those claims, Judge Bibas ruled that Copeland was a so-called public figure — a status that makes it very hard to win a defamation lawsuit.

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