Shelton’s Libel Lawsuit Continues

Shelton filed suit against Bauer Publishing over a story published in September; Bauer, in turn, asked to have Shelton’s lawsuit tossed out and now the country singer and “The Voice” star has filed a declaration to deny the motion.

In Touch claimed that Shelton was treated for alcoholism after a raucous trip to Mexico but also for years of abuse, to the point where friends were considering an intervention because he had heart problems and was near death.

Shelton, who notes in his lawsuit that he has countered past tabloid stories with humor, was not amused this time.

Shelton, after reading “The Real Story: Rehab for Blake” in September, says he was furious. “Not only was I not in rehab or headed to rehab when it was published, but I also do not have a drinking problem,” Shelton says in the lawsuit. “The Rehab Story portrayed me as a man who cannot function, cannot do his job, and is on the brink of death without treatment.”

Among the many claims he disputes, Blake said he does not “drink vodka before 11 a.m.,” has never “urinated on a mailbox in public, or otherwise,” did not “start drinking at 14” and did not start drinking “to cope with my brother’s death.”

Furthermore, he claims ex-wife Miranda Lambert did not “catch me with a bunch of naked women in our Tennessee home one night” and did not “tape me while drinking and then show me a video of myself the following day.”

Shelton concedes only one point: that he did go to Cancun last year but not for a bachelor party, and did not stay in the “Passion Suite” of the ME Melia, as the story claimed.

“Instead, I was with my tour manager Kevin Canady and a married couple who are friends of ours. We stayed at the Fiesta Americana. My hotel was not an ‘all inclusive’ resort,” he says in the court documents. Shelton claims one of the story’s many harms was jeopardizing a business deal with Pernod Ricard liquors for an endorsement of a new vodka.

After further inquiry, Pernod decided to close the deal with Shelton, according to the lawsuit.

In Touch publisher Bauer Publishing claims Shelton is “libel proof” and it’s a matter of public interest. They also claim to have witnesses and an addiction expert who is able to “spot alcoholism” backing their story. Shelton’s opposition retaliates that the so-called addiction expert is actually a certified financial planner without any medical training and whom Shelton has never met.