Former stripper files defamation charge against Scene

Parent company also named in claim of 'reckless disregard'

Email | Print By Nate Rau

Update 12:50 p.m. Friday – Scene Editor Pete Kotz said the publication's legal team plans to defend the paper against the suit, but declined further comment.

As originally reported:

The Nashville Scene and staff writer P.J. Tobia were hit on Wednesday with a defamation suit filed by a former stripper in response to a story published by the alt-weekly almost a year ago.

The suit states Tobia’s representation of former stripper Michelle Peacock in the Oct. 4, 2007 article, “Not Doing Jack,” resulted in injury to her character and reputation. The Scene’s parent company, City Press LLC, which is owned by Village Voice Media, was also named in the suit.

Peacock is seeking at least $25,000 in compensatory and punitive damages as a result.

Tobia cited a Metro Police report in his story that stated Peacock allegedly “offered to manually stimulate (an undercover cop) until ejaculation for $100 U.S. Dollars.”

The defamation suit alleges Tobia and The Scene either knew the facts in his story were false or “made representations with reckless disregard for their accuracy.”

“The October 4, 2007 issue of The Nashville Scene included an article authored by defendant Tobia entitled ‘Not Doing Jack.’ In that article, plaintiff was represented as ‘…giving handjobs in the middle of the afternoon…’ at her place of employment. The representation described above was and is untrue,” the lawsuit alleges.

The suit further alleges Peacock has been “humiliated and held up to public ridicule” since Tobia’s story and that she “continues to suffer a diminution in her earnings and earning capacity.” According to the suit, Déjà Vu refused to allow Peacock to continue working there after Tobia’s story was published.

According to the Metro Sexually Oriented Business Licensing Board media contact Christine Gruen, Peacock’s license to perform has expired.

Peacock has not been convicted of the 2007 prostitution charges, according to records in the Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk’s office. She was arraigned in May on three counts of prostitution, a Class B misdemeanor. Her trial date is set for Nov. 3 in Davidson County Criminal Court.

A phone call seeking a comment from The Scene was not immediately returned.