Mariah Carey Wins Dismissal of Brother’s Remaining Defamation Claims

Views 3 Published by October 20, 2026

A New York judge dismissed the remaining defamation claims brought by Morgan Carey against his sister, Mariah Carey, over her 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey.

A New York State Supreme Court judge, Justice Leslie A. Stroth, dismissed the remaining claims in a five-year legal battle in which Morgan Carey alleged that singer Mariah Carey defamed him in her bestselling 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey. The ruling was issued Monday and obtained by Rolling Stone.

Morgan Carey claimed that his sister damaged his reputation by portraying him as violent, accusing him of trafficking “powdered party favors” (a reference to cocaine), and describing him as having “behavioral problems” during childhood. He said his damages were “believed to exceed $20 million.” He also claimed Mariah Carey relied on their late mother as a source for some of the material.

Stroth found that Morgan Carey failed to establish actual malice. Under New York defamation law, public figures must show that a defendant made a false statement knowing it was false or with reckless disregard for the truth. Stroth wrote: “Plaintiff has not sufficiently pleaded actual malice on the part of [Mariah].” The judge also found that the allegation of ill will toward her brother was insufficient to satisfy the pleading requirement for actual malice.

In a statement to Billboard, Mariah Carey’s lawyer, John Rosenberg, said the decision “confirms that authors must be afforded broad protection when they speak out on matters of public concern.”

Morgan Carey first filed the lawsuit on May 28, 2021. His lawyer, Richard Altman, said in an email that he disagrees with the decision and that they intend to appeal “very soon.”