Update: The Univeristy of Virginia's Phi Kappa Psi chapter filed a $25 million lawsuit against Rolling Stone on Monday, over the infamous and ultimately retracted 2014 story about an alleged rape on campus. According to the Washington Post, the fraternity's complaint argued that the magazine's story damaged the reputation of current and future members.
"The fraternity chapter and its student and alumni members suffered extreme damage to their reputations in the aftermath of the article’s publication and continue to suffer despite the ultimate unraveling of the story," the chapter said in a statement.
This story was originally published on July 30, 2015.
In April of this year, the Virginia Alpha Chapter of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity issued a statement saying it would "pursue all available legal action" against Rolling Stone magazine. Yesterday, three fraternity brothers followed through on that promise. Each of these men are members of Phi Kappa Psi who graduated in 2013; all are claiming that "A Rape on Campus" — the article which has since been debunked — was both defamatory and inflicted emotional distress.
Up to this point, speculations about whether or not a lawsuit would be brought against Wenner Media and the articles author, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, had been divided. Filing the suit puts these three UVA graduates, along with their fraternity, under the microscope and exposes them to another potential wave of bad press; proving defamation is also a tedious, complex, and highly public process. But George Elias IV, Stephen Hadford, and Ross Fowler — the three Phi Kappa Psi brothers — have clearly not been dissuaded from seeking recompense for their ordeal. The plaintiffs are suing on three counts, seeking at least $75,000 in damages for each count.
Rolling Stone retracted its controversial gang rape story shortly after it was published on November 19, 2014. Since the piece went to print, the magazine has been consistently under fire for violating journalistic ethics and standard reporting practices. This week, amidst the continued scandal, longtime managing editor Will Dana announced that he will step down. Rolling Stone declined to comment on Dana's departure in an email to Refinery29. “After 19 years at Rolling Stone, I have decided that it is time to move on,” Dana shared in a statement. “It has been a great ride and I loved it even more than I imagined I would. I am as excited to see where the magazine goes next as I was in the summer of 1978 when I bought my first issue.” He joined the publication 19 years ago, and will officially make his exit on August 7, 2015. According to the The New York Times, Dana is not leaving for another role elsewhere, nor has his successor been named.
Rolling Stone retracted its controversial gang rape story shortly after it was published on November 19, 2014. Since the piece went to print, the magazine has been consistently under fire for violating journalistic ethics and standard reporting practices. This week, amidst the continued scandal, longtime managing editor Will Dana announced that he will step down. Rolling Stone declined to comment on Dana's departure in an email to Refinery29. “After 19 years at Rolling Stone, I have decided that it is time to move on,” Dana shared in a statement. “It has been a great ride and I loved it even more than I imagined I would. I am as excited to see where the magazine goes next as I was in the summer of 1978 when I bought my first issue.” He joined the publication 19 years ago, and will officially make his exit on August 7, 2015. According to the The New York Times, Dana is not leaving for another role elsewhere, nor has his successor been named.