NJ Dwarf Couple Sues Cable Channel for Defamation

A dwarf couple from southern New Jersey has filed a defamation lawsuit against a cable television channel that used a doctored photo of the pair to spoof reality television shows.

Cara and Gibson Reynolds say the sketch – which aired in 2009 on E! Entertainment Channel’s “Talk Soup” – caused them much emotional distress. The Collingswood couple – who are achondroplastic dwarfs – seek more than $50,000 in compensatory and punitive damages in the suit filed in Philadelphia Common Pleas court.

The show used a photo of the couple holding hands on their front porch. It was taken by a photographer for The Associated Press for a 2006 story on couples who have genetic conditions and are trying to conceive.

In the sketch, the show superimposed tattooed babies in pageant sashes and lingerie supermodels on the photo to illustrate a fake reality show it called “Fertile Little Tattooed Pageant Parents Who Enjoy Baking.”

Besides the cable channel, the suit also names Comcast – which owns E! -and “Talk Soup” host Joel McHale.

Telephone messages left Wednesday for Comcast, the Reynolds and their lawyer were not immediately returned.