(COBB COUNTY, Ga.) — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that a woman has filed a defamation lawsuit against the owners of Us Weekly magazine, after a story was published wrongly identifying her as the mother of Elon Musk’s twins.
Us Weekly is owned by 360Accelerated Holdings, which is based in Smyrna, Georgia.
In July 2022, Us Weekly ran a two stories with photos of a woman identified as Shivon Zilis, the mother of Musk’s twins, born November 2021. “But there was a problem,” the filing said. “The woman in the photo was not Zilis; it was [...] a married woman who has never even met Musk, let alone had children with him.”
The only connection between Jane Doe, as the lawsuit identifies her, and Zilis seems to be that they were roommates for a period. Doe is married to another man. The lawsuit identifies her as Jane Doe only, as she describes herself as “a scrupulously private person who has never sought any kind of celebrity status.”
The anonymity of the lawsuit could provide for unique wrinkles in the defamation case. As Greg Lisby told the AJC, “I’m at a loss. I have never heard of anyone being allow to claim anonymity in a suit for defamation.”
For a defamation case to be successful for the plaintiff, “actual malice” must be proven in court. That’s a high standard, and the fact that Doe doesn’t have any kind of public persona could add further complications to the case.
“There are not many defamation cases, because the standards make it so difficult to win. The jury will need to know, did Us Weekly have reason to know that she was not the woman who gave birth to those twins?” said Lisby.
The filing alleges that Doe has suffered substantially since the original articles ran, as the unwanted attention of being identified as the mother of Musk’s children has taken its toll on her. She also alleged the stress led to reduced performance at work, and the need for therapy.