Rosie O’Donnell Wins Slander Lawsuit Against Her

On Monday, a Manhattan Supreme Court Judge dismissed a defamation case against former The View co-host Rosie O’Donnell.

The lawsuit, which was filed back in September 2015 by ex-producer Jennifer Shepard-Brookman, claimed that O’Donnell slandered her name and destroyed her reputation by making false accusations that she was leaking stories to the press. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the lawsuit allegedly stemmed from a meeting in January of that year in which O’Donnell is reported to have accused Brookman of leaking details of a Beverly Johnson interview to the media.

On Monday, judge Shlomo Hagler dismissed the complaint and addressed what had taken place at the 2015 meeting, stating, “Here, the use of the wor[d] ‘maybe’ makes it clear that any reasonable listener would regard defendant’s statement as non-factual. At most, [O’Donnell’s] statement constitutes rhetorical hyperbole which cannot form the basis of a claim for defamation.”

Hagler went on to write that “the subject communications were between co-workers in a work setting regarding issues in the workplace” and that Brookman failed to show evidence that O’Donnell was “motivated by common spite or ill will.”

“I am gratified the Court, DISMISSED Jen Brookman’s defamation complaint IN IT ENTIRETY – Ms. Brookman’s claim was without merit,” the 55-year-old comedian wrote on Twitter.

In 2014, Brookman was fired from ABC over an alleged email she had sent to the TV personality that was described as “vicious.” O’Donnell left The View the following year.