C. Delores Tucker Finally Fails with Her Lawsuit Against Time and Newsweek

Rap opponent C. Delores Tucker has finally failed with her lawsuit against Time and Newsweek. On October 1, 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case (Tucker v. Fischbein, No. 00-1714). This left the January 9, 2001 ruling of the federal appeals court for the third circuit (Third Circuit) in place. AllHipHop reported the outcome on October 3, 2001, inaccurately attributing the decision to the “3rd Circuit” of the Supreme Court. The then 74-year-old and her husband had previously demanded ten million dollars from Tupac’s estate, citing among other things “loss of consortium,” that is, the impairment of their marriage.

Lines on “All Eyez on Me”

The reason was lyrics about Tucker on Tupac’s 1996 album All Eyez on Me. Her lawsuit over the song lyrics themselves was also unsuccessful. In addition, Tucker also went to court against media, reporters, and estate attorney Richard Fischbein because Time and Newsweek had allegedly reduced her lawsuit to a sex topic.

Tucker Considered a Public Figure

Tucker and her husband had conceded being public figures, and that is how the appeals court treated them in January 2001. She would therefore have had to prove that the reporters acted maliciously. The judges saw no such proof. Only the proceedings against Fischbein remained open. As an activist, according to AllHipHop, Tucker had almost single-handedly ensured that Death Row lost its distribution through Time Warner.