The half-sister of pop singer Lily Allen has reportedly launched legal action against IPC Media over a story about her that appeared in one of the of the publishers’ magazines.
Gala Talbott, 19, is alleging libel in the lawsuit, claiming that Now Magazine damaged her reputation by running a misleading story about her and her famous half-sister. The feature in question was entitled ‘Lily’s Heartache over Secret Sister”, with the subheading “A call to her teenage sibling ends in tears”.
Talbott – who shares a father with the singer but currently lives in New York – claims that the story suggests that Allen attempted to contact her in an attempt to build a relationship but was rejected in what Talbott calls “an unjustifiably nasty way”. She also takes issue with the magazine’s portrayal of her as Allen’s ‘secret sister’, which she believes suggests that she is an embarrassment to the family.
Talbott says that the story has damaged her reputation, as well as causing her emotional distress and embarrassment. She is suing IPC Media for defamation and is seeking libel damages of £15,000.
As a major publishing company, it is expected that IPC will have professional indemnity insurance in place to cover the costs of defending defamation lawsuits.