Former Model Niki Taylor Files Slander Suit Against E!

LOS ANGELES – Niki Taylor filed a federal slander lawsuit against E! Entertainment for alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress with its profile of the model in the new series "Blvd. of Broken Dreams."

The U.S. District Court suit, filed Friday, also alleged fraud, breach of contract and invasion of privacy claiming E! Entertainment representatives falsely claimed the show would focus on Taylor's current life.

The cable network allegedly told Taylor and manager Lou Taylor, no relation, the show would feature current professional endeavors, including her signature fragrance, clothing line, upcoming cosmetics line and charitable foundation, the suit said.

Instead, the suit said, defendants E! Entertainment Television Inc., E! Networks Productions Inc. and a producer focused on Taylor's past hardships and characterized her as a celebrity "who risked everything ... and lost."

The E! synopsis of the show on its Web site describes "Blvd. of Broken Dreams" as, "In a place between heaven and Hollywood, dreams turn tragic and fame goes sour fast."

"My life is far from a 'boulevard of broken dreams,"' Taylor said in a statement.

Last week's premiere episode of "Blvd. of Broken Dreams" was repeatedly shown on the cable network despite demands from Taylor's lawyers that it be pulled from the lineup, Taylor attorney Caroline H. Mankey said.

"They neglected their journalistic obligations to report truthfully and accurately; they violated express promises they made to the plaintiff, supermodel Niki Taylor; and they demonstrated a reprehensible disregard for the substantial harm their actions would cause to Ms. Taylor," the complaint said.

Telephone voicemail and e-mail messages to E! Entertainment spokeswoman Sarah Goldstein weren't immediately returned.

Through the `90s, Taylor, 31, was an elite model appearing frequently in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and drawing numerous endorsement deals. She was critically injured in a near-fatal car accident in 2001, and recovered fully only after numerous surgeries.

Taylor and race car driver Burney Lamar married on Dec. 27 at the Grande Colonial Hotel in the La Jolla area of San Diego. It was the first marriage for Lamar and the second for Taylor, who has 11-year-old twin boys, Jake and Hunter Martinez, from her previous marriage to former football player Matt Martinez.