Fighting back

"It's a trap." Joseph couldn't believe it, his face stiffened. "And I fell right into it!" Joseph was self-reproachful, blaming himself for his negligence. He hadn't fulfilled his duties as a manager. Not only that, but he had also physically assaulted the journalist.

Although he had managed to prevent Hugo from directly attacking the journalist, for any artist, the manager was an integral part of their interests, inseparable from Hugo. Moreover, Joseph now resembled more of Hugo's manager, their relationship was even closer. Therefore, Joseph assaulting the journalist was no different from Hugo assaulting him. Perhaps the negative impact would be somewhat smaller, but not by much.

"So am I." Hugo looked at Joseph and spoke, leaving Joseph stunned. "Remember? I swung my fist at that damn journalist, just a step slower than you!"

Joseph shook his head, holding his head in frustration and muttered, "But I should have stopped you. I should have remained calm."

"Joe, wake up, it's not your fault." Karl sat beside Joseph and quickly consoled him.

"Yeah, if it were me, I would have punched that damn bastard a long time ago!" Alex immediately chimed in.

Charlize closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "You guys aren't helping. Joe, now is not the time to blame each other. Regardless of whose fault it is, the incident has already happened, and we must find a way to resolve it. According to Hugo, it's obvious the journalist has gone crazy. He's willing to do anything for a headline, and tomorrow the news in this regard will flood in. If we're not prepared, things will only get worse."

Charlize used "we" instead of "you guys", and Hugo noticed this detail. First, there was the comfort from people like Meryl, Jack, Al, and now a group of friends rallying together. This gave Hugo a slight recovery of confidence. Perhaps the entertainment industry was truly treacherous, with incidents like Anthony's constantly occurring. But at least he had these friends by his side.

"Of course, in fact, neither you nor Hugo are at fault. It was all that damn bastard's scheming," Charlize muttered indignantly. Though she had been keeping calm, she couldn't forgive the journalist's nonsense in her heart.

Hearing Charlize's mutter, despite the tense atmosphere, a smile tugged at the corner of Hugo's mouth.

"So, what should we do now?" Alex spoke up, but there was no response. Everyone fell into silence.

Now everyone knew what Hugo and Joseph would face tomorrow, but no one knew if Anthony had any further means. What's worse, Hugo and Joseph both thought of Tracey and Ron. Would they add insult to injury, or to go further, did Tracy and Lang have any involvement in Anthony's provocation today?

Upon careful consideration, Anthony's topics today were not made out of thin air. The first one was about awards, the second about big names, the third about plagiarism, and the fourth about Uma. Each of these topics seemed baseless nonsense, but Anthony firmly believed they had credible sources. So where did these sources come from?

Joseph's first reaction was to look up at Charlize, and indeed, he saw Charlize's gaze fall on Uma. This made Joseph also shift his gaze to Uma. In fact, the common point among these four topics today was Uma.

Regarding the discussion about awards, Hugo had been in Malibu all along, with no communication with friends, except for Uma. Hugo's friends were aware of the big-name incident, including Uma, of course. As for the plagiarism, one could assume it was Anthony's intentional attempt to defame, as there was no source for such speculation. Lastly, mentioning Uma in connection to Hugo's rise to fame reminded Joseph of the conversation between Uma and Martin Baum on New Year's Eve. And Uma chose to stay at Sydney Pollock's party...

What was more important was that Uma's behavior tonight was extremely strange. Joseph couldn't remember clearly during the entire confrontation, but he did recall that while Hugo was talking to people like Meryl Streep, Uma was standing two steps away, her expression uncertain as she contemplated something. At first, Joseph thought Uma was frightened but worried about Hugo. However, after that, Uma seemed absent-minded. She used to have a strong presence, but since she returned, Uma seemed to have disappeared, always lost in her own world.

Joseph let out a long sigh, forcing himself to stop overthinking. Because Joseph knew that all of this was mere speculation. He knew his speculations had no basis, just like Anthony's slander against Hugo. If he casually spoke about it, it would be a slander against Uma, which would be irresponsible. Moreover, Joseph knew that Hugo believed in Uma, and Uma had no reason to harm Hugo. So Joseph couldn't help but retract his gaze. His eyes met with Charlize's, they looked at each other briefly, then averted their gaze elsewhere.

In the midst of silence, Karl's voice came, "What about Tracey... or Ron..."

"No, absolutely not!" Hugo said firmly. He understood Karl's implication, but regardless of who was behind this matter or whether Tracey and Ron were involved, in terms of connections, Tracey and Ron had a significant advantage. They could offer much help. However, Hugo had no intention of seeking their assistance. "I'd rather rely on my own abilities to handle this. I'm willing to accept whatever the outcome may be!"

Upon hearing Hugo's definitive answer, Karl shrugged and didn't say anything further. Hugo pondered carefully, "It's unnecessary to dwell on how this happened or what conspiracies await us in the future." His mind had been in chaos just moments ago, filled with thoughts about Tracey, Ron, Anthony, the entertainment industry, negative news, and various ideas intertwining, making it impossible for him to sort through anything. Hugo was convincing himself as well as everyone else.

At this moment, it was not rational to investigate the origins without any clues or ponder the future without any signs. The urgent task was to prepare for the chaos that awaited them tomorrow. Afterward, they would face the challenges as they came. After all, I am visible while the enemy is hidden. It had to be done this way.

"I think..." Hugo's voice regained a faint warmth, but it carried more determination than usual. "I think we should proactively admit our mistakes in front of the media and not get entangled with them."

"Why!" Alex directly interrupted Hugo's words, finding it incomprehensible. "It was that damn reporter who provoked you, who kept slandering and insulting you. Why should we admit our mistakes? It's unfair!"

"Alex..." Hugo tried to say something, but Alex impulsively stood up and shouted angrily, "We should expose that reporter's disgusting behavior. We must fight to the end. This is unacceptable. Today, he insulted you, and you bowed your head. In the future, everyone will be able to insult you. It's endless!"

No one stopped Alex because everyone knew he had a point, even Hugo couldn't refute it.

"But we have no evidence," Hugo said weakly. "We have no evidence of that journalist slandering me. Things happened too quickly, and no one around heard the content of our conversation. If he doesn't voluntarily provide that evidence, we have no way to prove that he deliberately provoked us."

"Moreover, when it comes to defamation, you know, it's not an easy matter," Hugo added.

Defamation is a tricky charge in the United States.

In the United States, which advocates freedom of speech, every citizen can freely express their political views and criticize government policies. Even if your criticism lacks factual basis or is completely false, the government will not sue you for defamation.

In theory, if using false language to publicly attack someone causes economic or reputational damage to the other party, it constitutes defamation. However, the actual situation is much more complicated.

In the United States, there are two types of people who find it difficult to sue others for defamation when they are publicly criticized. One is government officials, and the other is celebrities. As a government official, you must endure the pain of being criticized, even if the other party's criticism is completely false, you cannot sue them for defamation. The same goes for celebrities because as public figures, they can only endure others' insults. If they sue others just because they are being insulted, they usually won't win.

In order to protect freedom of speech to the greatest extent, it is difficult for celebrities to obtain legal victories when they are attacked or even defamed. The biggest reason for this difficulty is that reports about celebrities often involve rumors and speculations in order to satisfy the public's right to know and freedom of speech. And in the elements of a defamation conviction, it must be proven that there was "economic or reputational damage."

Economic or reputational damage cannot be unsubstantiated. For example, if someone spreads rumors that the person in question has a contagious disease or bad habits, causing the person to lose a job with an annual income of $100,000, then the person has genuine evidence to sue them for defamation. In order to prove economic loss, personal income may need to be publicly disclosed. To prove emotional distress, medical expenses may need to be disclosed, and so on. If one does not want to make such disclosures or cannot provide genuine evidence, it is best not to easily sue others for defamation, as it would be a waste of energy, time, and lawyer fees.

Celebrities, in particular, cannot present such evidence. As public figures, they are already in the spotlight, and the "defamation" imposed on them is often just one of the effects of entertainment. The resulting harm is difficult to substantiate. For example, if a public figure claims that they lost an interview opportunity due to defamation, an intangible thing like an "interview opportunity" cannot be submitted as evidence. Therefore, it is not a wise decision for public figures to counter the media with defamation.

Hugo was undoubtedly one of those public figures.

"Furthermore, even if we prove that he defamed me, the fact remains that we physically assaulted the journalist. That is a fact. He not only has eyewitnesses but also physical evidence in the form of his face full of injuries. I can even imagine him deliberately appearing in front of the media with those injuries," that was the fundamental reason why Hugo had the idea of admitting his mistakes courageously because facts cannot be changed. Choosing to take responsibility instead of evading it was the right choice.

"I should have punched him differently," Joseph said softly. Although it was just an exclamation from him, it unexpectedly brought a sense of amusement at this moment, causing everyone present to chuckle and laugh uncontrollably. Hugo nodded, "Yes, you should have punched him in a place he can't see, like the ribs or ass."