Hush....

Mariah Carey's paperback

is out; just don't tell anyone

   By David Baker

   The paperback edition of Mariah Carey’s controversial memoir was quietly published Nov. 2, with no effort made to promote it. A Walmart store in upstate New York had no copies on its shelves Tuesday morning.  At a Barnes & Noble store in Albany, an employee had to go into the storage area in back Tuesday evening to get a requested copy.

   As for the statements in the book that have prompted one lawsuit and notice of another; they are also in the new edition because the defendants really had no choice; they could hardly remove them while claiming in response to Morgan Carey’s lawsuit that they are protected speech because they are in the public interest. 

   Paperbacks are published to reach a new audience, people who would not have purchased the more expensive hardcover edition. That makes this paperback a republication - which restarts the 1-year window in which lawsuits can be filed.

   And that raises a question: Why publish a paperback which then has to be all but disowned?  If it hadn’t been announced - as it was on Twitter back in the summer -  it could have been simply forgotten.

   

   Instead, the flat-out statements that Alison Carey committed several crimes 40 years ago are repeated, presenting further evidence of actual malice.

   

   Not promoting the new book doesn’t change anything; it’s still the work of a cruel and vindictive multimillionaire. 

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