Libel Lawsuit or Elaborate PR Stunt?
The Post is embroiled in another legal spat. Lynsi Smigo, the fiancée of radio host Opie of the "Opie & Anthony" show, has filed a $10 million libel suit against the Post, Page Six editor Richard Johnson, and gossip lowlife Chaunce Hayden for reporting that she'd appeared in a sex tape with MTV's Bam Margera. As the story goes, Hayden—who, in case you're not familiar with his work, is the editor of Steppin' Out, the sort of rag handed out for free to Ashley Dupre types outside of clubs in Sayreville, NJ—provided the tip to Page Six in April. The Post ran the story, but there was no sex tape, which the paper acknowledged when it issued an apology in May. Now the Smigo has filed a lawsuit for $10 million claiming the story left her feeling "humiliated" and "ashamed." (Funny, those are the same emotions that come to mind when we think of dating Opie.) Smigo will be lucky if she walks away with enough cash to cover the limo ride to her wedding, much less the eight-figure sum she's seeking. But we're guessing Opie isn't all that worried. This is, after all, the same radio personality who once encouraged a couple to have sex inside St. Patrick's (a stunt that lost him his job on WNEW). We figure the publicity value of the lawsuit should more than make up for his legal bills.