Courtney Love's Tweets Lead to Defamation Lawsuit

It's not news that Courtney Love isn't one to hold back when it comes to expressing her feelings on Twitter. However, her negative comments toward fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir has put her in the middle of a new high-profile lawsuit, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Simorangkir is suing the Hole frontwoman for defamation in a suit that will go to court on Jan. 18. The tweets in question came in March 2009 after the designer demanded Love pay for her clothing bill. According to her lawyer Bryan Freedman, the comments destroyed Simorangkar's fashion career. Love announced that the designer was a "drug-pushing prostitute with a history of assault and battery" and used the singer for her fame. "She has received a VAST amount of money from me over 40,000 dollars and I do not make people famous and get raped TOO!" Love wrote.

What makes this trial different from Love's other troubles is it's the first defamation court case over a celebrity's Twitter comments. While Simorangkir and her lawyers have a social media expert on their side, the Love camp isn't too worried. "We don't believe there's any defamation, and even if there were defamatory statements, there's no damage," Love's lawyer James Janowitz said.

Love is scheduled to testify in court but has already given a deposition for the case where she claimed that she was only repeating what she heard from the designer herself. While it's too early to speculate which way this case will go, it's sure to have a lasting impact on the way celebrities use Twitter.