After suing a popular magazine for millions of dollars in 2015, the longtime country star is finally looking to end the lengthy litigation over claims that he had “checked into rehab” among other things.
In a long, drawn-out legal battle with Bauer Publishing Co., country music star Blake Shelton fired back after a headline of InTouch Weekly was published that claimed he had been checked in to a rehab facility for alcoholism.
The issue of the magazine was dated September 28th, 2015 and featured a headline that read, “Rehab for Blake… He Finally Hits Rock Bottom”.
The tabloid story spoke in length of the singer’s alleged drinking problem and even went as far as claiming he had to check into rehab for it following his July 2015 divorce from fellow country singer, Miranda Lambert.
In documents previously obtained by ET, it stated Shelton was “furious” about the allegations from the magazine that proposed he was “a man who cannot function, cannot do his job, and is on the brink of death without treatment.”
In Shelton’s declaration, he downright disputed the magazine’s claims, saying, “I do not drink excessively, binge drink, or have a drinking problem. I do not, as the Rehab Story alleges, drink vodka before 11:00 a.m. I am never drunk, intoxicated, or unable to perform my job on The Voice or elsewhere.”
Now, in a new report by The Standard-Times, lawyers from both sides have asked the judge to fully dismiss the defamation lawsuit because they had reached a settlement.
Traditionally, when a settlement is reached outside of court the details and dollar amounts are not made available to the public, and in the case of Shelton’s lawsuit there is no exception except that both sides have agreed to pay their own legal costs for the lawsuit.
The request for dismissal from both sides was filed in a federal court in Los Angeles, California on Thursday, April 13th. Both sides have not issued a public statement on the matter yet.
Watch the video below that covers the details of the lawsuit.