Hedda Hopper her column throughout the 1940s, advocating for her to land starring roles in "The Bells of St. Mary's" (1945) and "Joan of Arc" (1948). She was enraged when Bergman lied to her about being pregnant with married director Roberto Rossellini's baby. Hopper had believed Bergman, printing a fervent denial of the rumor in 1949. However, Bergman was indeed pregnant, and the news was leaked to Hopper's arch-rival Louella Parsons, who got the scoop. Seeking revenge, Hopper launched a PR campaign decrying Bergman for being pregnant out of wedlock and carrying a married man's child. Hopper had an acting role in
Gossip columnist and they believe that their reputation has been defamed — that is, exposed to hatred, contempt, ridicule, or pecuniary loss. Gossip columnists cannot defend against libel claims by arguing that they merely repeated, but did not originate the defaming rumor or claim; instead, a columnist must prove that the allegedly defaming statement was truthful, or that it was based on a reasonably reliable source. In the mid-1960s, rulings by the United States Supreme Court made it harder for the media to be sued for libel in the U.S. The court ruled that libel only occurred in cases where a publication