Legal Question in Entertainment Law in California

I have a question regarding a project that I am currently working on. I am a Youtuber and I make daily videos and post them online. I have a video project that I am working on regarding an experience that I had with my high school teacher. He told me that I would amount to nothing if I continued to pursue a dream that I had since I was a kid. This caused me to be bullied throughout high school and gave me suicidal thoughts at the age of 14. My question is, can I get in trouble for stating his name (ie Mr. Smith) in the video? I want the video to be a message to kids that you shouldn't let someone elses opinions affect your goals. Although, I don't want to get in trouble with defamation. Can I get into trouble for this?


Asked on 8/18/19, 10:58 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Keith E. Cooper Keith E. Cooper, Esq.

If you are concerned about being accused of libel or slander, be aware that "truth" is an absolute defense. As long as your depiction of the event is factually accurate and true, your former teacher would have no claim against you. Where you might get into trouble is by varying from the facts and embellishing your story to make the person seem more villainous than they actually were.

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Answered on 8/20/19, 1:46 pm


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