Albanese

Plaintiff and respondent Lindsay Albanese, a celebrity stylist and style expert, sued defendant and appellant Maria Menounos, a television personality, for defamation and other torts. Menounos moved to strike the complaint under Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16, the anti-SLAPP statute. The trial court denied the motion on the ground the disputed statements did not involve a public issue or an issue of public interest. (§ 425.16, subd. (e)(4).) In this appeal from the order of denial, we reject Menounos’s contentions and affirm.

BACKGROUND

I. The Complaint’s Allegations

Albanese’s complaint alleged as follows: Albanese worked at NBC from September 2005 to December 11, 2009, as a stylist for Menounos on the Access Hollywood set. After Albanese’s employment with NBC ended, she saw Menounos at a June 3, 2011 “event at the MTV Gift Suite at the W Hotel in Hollywood.” At that event, “Menounos aggressively demanded to speak with” Albanese, who was standing next to “Greg Dava, an employee of the producer of the event.” “In front of peers, colleagues, and prospective business clients, Defendant Menounos loudly accused [Albanese] of stealing by claiming, ‘Dolce and Gabbana…