Lily Allen’s half sister Gala Talbott has launched a legal action over a Now magazine article about her famous singing relative.
Nineteen-year-old Talbott, who shares a father with Allen, launched the action against the magazine’s owner, IPC Media, seeking libel damages of up to £15,000.
The teenager, from New York, is suing over a story headed: “Lily’s Heartache over Secret Sister” and “A call to her teenage sibling ends in tears”.
According to a writ filed at the High Court, Talbot claims the story suggested that Allen reached out to Talbott in an attempt to build a relationship, only to be rebuffed in an “unjustifiably nasty way”.
Talbott claims her reputation has been damaged by the story, and that she was left distressed and embarrassed.
She is seeking aggravated damages saying the description of her as Allen’s ‘secret sister’suggested she had been kept from view and was an embarrassment to her family.
Talbott is also seeking an injunction banning repetition of the allegations at the centre of her claim.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
