Bieber and Beachclub: What is defamation in the social media era?

• Date: 01 September 2016
• Author: Gordon, Matt

On May 16, 2016, the Montreal Gazette and the New York Daily News reported that Stratford-born pop star Justin Bieber had been sued in Montreal by event promoter Team Productions for $650,000 CDN for defamation.

Bieber's offending comment was a tweet on August 22, 2015, which would have been the day of a show he cancelled at Montreal nightclub called Beachclub. It read, "Montreal due to the promoter of today's event breaking his contract and lying I will not be able to attend today's event". Bieber was due $250,000 upon signing the agreement to play the concert, and an additional $175,000 five days before the event. Team Productions cited a hit to its reputation and an associated loss of revenue. It also claimed Bieber failed to promote the event on social media as he promised.

Beyond the wow factor of having a celebrity sued for that much money over a cancelled show, this case demonstrates how easy it is for social media use to turn into defamation.

According to the Supreme Court of Canada in Grant v Torstar, a plaintiff in a defamation lawsuit has to prove three points.

1. First, the words in question diminish the plaintiff's reputation in the eyes of a reasonable...