Clay Aiken Sued By Author

The author of an "unauthorized tribute" to Clay Aiken is suing the "American Idol" singer, claiming he defamed her and conspired to stifle sales of her book.

Jeannie Holleman, 50, says she is a lifelong friend and neighbor of a Raleigh family that was friends with Aiken's mother, Faye Parker, and took her in when Parker and her young son left her abusive husband.

Holleman's 2005 book, "Out of the Blue — 'Clay' it Forward," incorporates interviews from the McGhee family and her own recollections with stories from Aiken's fans.

In the lawsuit, filed Friday in Wake County Superior Court, Holleman claims Aiken, his mother and others conspired to defame her and depress sales of her book by denying they knew her, branding her stories as lies and demeaning the book on Aiken fans' Web sites.

The lawsuit also claims a bodyguard for Aiken manhandled Holleman at a fundraiser in Hawaii.

A telephone message left Sunday at Parker's home was not immediately returned. Messages left with Aiken's management company were not immediately returned.

The lawsuit seeks at least $260,000 in damages and asks the court to order Aiken to retract the critical comments or endorse the book on his official Web site, to write a positive introduction for the book and to sell the book at his concerts for at least five years.