Hagar Must Face Libel Claim

He said the woman lied about the pregnancy in his memoir, “Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock,” published in 2011, and described a hotel encounter in Michigan with the woman, identified only as “Jane Doe.”

The lawsuit had been dismissed last year by a federal judge, but the appeals court says the woman has established facts a jury should decide.

“Hagar’s statements regarding Doe’s criminality, dishonesty, and sexual exploits have ‘a natural tendency to provoke [Doe] to wrath or expose [her] to public hatred, contempt or ridicule’ within the community of individuals that recognize her as the subject of the statements,” Judge Myron Bright wrote, according to court documents. “Therefore, we conclude that Hagar’s statements are defamatory as a matter of law.”

The woman, a former Playboy bunny, claims she had Hagar’s baby, but that it died shortly after birth in 1989. She also claims they’d had an on-and-off relationship for several years. In his book, Hagar describes her as a stranger and reveals he’d given her $7,000 in financial assistance.

Hagar denies he was the father, questions whether she had a baby and accuses her of extortion.