14 DAY TRIAL // Last January, shortly after Heath Ledger’s sudden death, a video of him reportedly doing drugs, shot two years before his passing, emerged. “Entertainment Tonight” bought it, with plans to air it, but backed out following pressure from stars, fans and the media. The other day, a judge decided that the person in whose room the tape was made was in the right to claim the video never be made public.
A People freelancer, known only as Jane Doe (not her real name), in whose hotel suite the video was made, filed a lawsuit asking the footage be destroyed. However, until she got to do so, the paparazzo who shot it, working for Splash, had already brokered a deal with “ET,” which went forward and announced that it would run the clip, even showing a teaser of it a couple of times. Eventually, the network had a change of heart, deciding not to go through with the plans.
Doe claimed that not only was the video shot without her permission but, given that she could be seen in it, it was actually violating her privacy. Splash, in its turn, alleged that, since the woman’s face was blurred, the only person who had any right to claim any wrongdoing was Heath himself, which, obviously, he could not do. The judge initially agreed with the paparazzi agency, but later restored many of the suit’s allegations, The Associated Press reports. Now, the same judge ruled that the tape never be made public, given it was shot without the permission of those appearing on it.
When the tape surfaced, it managed to stir up quite a controversy, given that Heath was seen on it doing drugs and speaking of previous use. This came in a context in which, at that time, it was not yet certain what the cause of Ledger’s death was, and speculation had it that drugs might have played an important part in it, or in his decision to take his own life. Later, when the police investigation proved that this had not been the case, it continued to cause waves, this time on the Internet, where it could still be seen. The AP reports that, now, it can hardly be found.