EURweb |
LARK VOORHIES SUES NATIONAL ENQUIRER: Actress upset over story claiming she had a cocaine problem.
*Lark Voorhies, best known for her role as Lisa Turtle on TV’s “Saved by the Bell,” has filed a lawsuit against the National Enquirer for publishing a story that suggested she was battling a cocaine addiction.
In Tuesday’s filing obtained by TMZ.com, the actress is seeking unspecified punitive damages as a result of the June 2005 article, which quoted a "friend" of Voorhies' as saying she was strung out.
"Poor Lark—she's really in bad shape," the Enquirer quoted the "friend" as saying. "She has a terrible drug problem and is bipolar as well. It's very tough."
Voorhies, who refutes the claims, says she has "suffered humiliation, mental anguish, emotional and physical distress, and has been injured in mind and body" due to the allegations in the article.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, also states: “Voorhies has lost several potential acting and hosting jobs as a result of her legal name, image and likeness being associated with the magazine article stating she has a cocaine addiction."
The suit further claims that the allegations caused her "ridicule, scorn and contempt and has caused her great humiliation, embarrassment, and anxiety with Voorhies' family, friends, and for current, past and potential future employment."
A month after the “National Enquirer” article came out, Voorhies' doctor, Howard Askins, wrote a letter saying the actress was indeed admitted to a hospital in May of 2005, but it was not for substance abuse. He wrote specifically: "she does not have a cocaine addiction."
.jpg)
