Mariah Carey has won a legal battle against her brother, Morgan Carey, after a judge dismissed his defamation lawsuit over the singer’s 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey. According to reports by Rolling Stone and TheWrap, Morgan had alleged that the book damaged his reputation by portraying him as a violent drug dealer with a criminal history, seeking more than $20 million in damages.The New York judge dismissed Morgan’s remaining defamation claims on October 19, 2026, ruling that he had failed to establish that Mariah knew the statements were false or had recklessly disregarded the truth. The court found that his allegations did not meet the high legal threshold required to prove defamation involving matters of public interest.The $20 million figure refers to the damages Morgan claimed in the lawsuit; it was not an amount awarded by the court. Following the dismissal, his lawyer indicated that he intended to appeal the decision.
Why Morgan Carey sued Mariah Carey over her memoir
Morgan, who is 10 years older than the singer, filed the lawsuit in 2021. He alleged that the memoir portrayed him as a violent drug dealer who had “been in the system”. He insisted that he was neither violent nor had a criminal record.Morgan also claimed that the book had severely damaged his reputation and affected his ability to secure work. He described himself as having been “ruined” by the memoir, which referred to him as her “ex-brother”. According to his allegations, he lost professional opportunities and struggled to find steady employment following its publication.He also argued that Mariah had failed to fact-check the passages concerning him with him before the book was released.However, Mariah’s legal team argued that the failure to consult Morgan before publication did not, by itself, establish the “actual malice” required for a defamation claim.
Earlier court ruling allowed some claims to proceed
The latest decision follows an earlier ruling in 2022, when Judge Barbara Jaffe dismissed 14 of the 16 claims in Morgan’s original complaint and rejected all claims against the book’s publisher.However, Jaffe allowed certain allegations involving claims that Morgan had distributed cocaine in the 1980s and had “been in the system” to proceed against Mariah.The judge also found that other statements in the memoir, including allegations that Morgan had been abusive and had accepted money to murder someone, could potentially be defamatory. However, Morgan had failed to adequately establish that he suffered damages from those statements.Morgan’s attorneys appealed the ruling, arguing that the trial court had not considered the full context of the memoir. The decision was subsequently upheld.
Morgan Carey’s lawyer plans another appeal
Following the latest dismissal, Morgan’s attorney, Richard Roth, said he intended to challenge the decision again.In an email quoted in earlier reporting, Roth criticised the ruling for disregarding the earlier decision that had allowed certain statements to form the basis of a defamation claim.“In rendering its decision, the Court literally ignored the prior decision from Justice Jaffe, that specifically held the statements were sufficient to defeat a motion to dismiss, which decision was affirmed by the First Department,” Roth said.“So, we will go up to the First Department on appeal.”The planned appeal could extend the legal dispute, which began shortly after the publication of Mariah’s memoir in 2020.
Mariah Carey’s sister Alison also filed a lawsuit over the memoir
Morgan was not the only member of the Carey family to raise legal objections to the memoir. Their sister, Alison Carey, filed a separate defamation lawsuit, alleging that the book falsely portrayed her as having thrown boiling tea on Mariah and having “tried to pimp her out”.However, Alison’s lawsuit was never pursued. She died in 2024.Mariah’s memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, was published in 2020 and detailed the singer’s life, career and complicated family relationships. Morgan’s lawsuit centred on passages he claimed were false and damaging. The judge’s latest decision dismisses his remaining claims, although his lawyer has said he intends to appeal.