UVA Dean of Students Names Rolling Stone, Sabrina Erdely in $7.5 Million Defamation Suit
ByNicole Eramo, University of Virginia (UVA) associate dean of students, filed a $7.5 million defamation lawsuit against Rolling Stone Magazine Tuesday for the way she was portrayed in the now-retracted "A Rape on Campus" article.
According to the Washington Post, Eramo filed her suit Tuesday in order to publicly hold the magazine and the article's author, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, accountable. In her complaint, Eramo names Rolling Stone, Wenner Media and Erdely as defendants.
Erdely's article made Eramo, UVA's top official concerning matters of sexual misconduct and assault, appear to have intentionally sought to cover Jackie's complaint of being gang raped at a prominent fraternity. The fraternity implicated in the article, Phi Kappa Psi, also sued Rolling Stone over the article.
After the Post and other publications began pointing out inconsistencies in Erdely's story, Rolling Stone commissioned the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism to conduct an exhaustive review. Led by Steve Coll, the school's dean, the review deemed "A Rape on Campus" a "journalistic failure." Rolling Stone officially retracted the article upon publishing Coll's review.
"Rolling Stone and Erdely's highly defamatory and false statements about Dean Eramo were not the result of an innocent mistake," Eramo's lawsuit reads. "They were the result of a wanton journalist who was more concerned with writing an article that fulfilled her preconceived narrative about the victimization of women on American college campuses, and a malicious publisher who was more concerned about selling magazines to boost the economic bottom line for its faltering magazine, than they were about discovering the truth or actual facts."
UVA also came out behind Eramo, the Post reported, acknowledging her right to pursue legal action if she chose. Neither Rolling Stone nor Erdely responded to the Post to comment on the lawsuit.
"The University of Virginia previously stated that the Rolling Stone article is an example of irresponsible journalism, which has damaged the reputation of many innocent individuals and the University of Virginia," the school said in a statement. "The University fully supports and appreciates the professional competency and contributions of Dean Eramo and all of her colleagues who work tirelessly in the support of our students and their safety and wellbeing."
