Sara Evans’ Ex-Husband Sues TMZ for Defamation
Sara Evans' ex-husband, Craig Schelske, is back in the news and the courtroom again. Schelske is suing celebrity news website TMZ for defamation, claiming they falsely reported that his former wife found photographs of him having sex with other people.
Courthouse documents state that the defamatory comments appeared on the June 17 episode of TMZ's TV show, leaving viewers with the "unmistakable belief that Mr. Schelske was unfaithful while married to his previous spouse, Sara Evans, and that Sara Evans had discovered his infidelity when she found a hundred photographs of him having sex with other people."
Schelske says the allegations are "unequivocally false," which his ex-wife seems to support. A text message by Evans says, "I will always tell our children that the things said about you were not true,'" according to the 11-page lawsuit. Schelske previously won a settlement and public apology from Evans' divorce attorney, John Hollins Sr., after Hollins made the same claims in court and to People magazine. The alleged photographs never turned up.
Evans and Schelske divorced in 2006 after 13 years of marriage, amidst allegations by Evans that he was unfaithful with their nanny and verbally abusive. He adamantly denied the charges.
The former spouses returned the courtroom in 2011, when Evans received a second restraining order against Schelske after he spoke negatively about her in a TV interview. She previously received a restraining order in 2010, also for speaking out publicly about their divorce.
In Schelske's latest lawsuit, he is seeking punitive damages for defamation and false light.