I have major problems with these "defamation" and anti-slander types of laws... First of all, they exist solely for the super-rich -- because I don’t know if anyone here has ever tried to sue someone else for slander or defamation, but it's nearly impossible for regular people to do.
...These types of laws that are reserved exclusively for the rich and famous, are really a waste of us normal people's tax money, because to top it off, us regular people have to foot the bill for the court processes, for these 1 percenters to sue each other. How ridiculous is that?
Suing for slander and defamation (successfully) is pretty much impossible for
everyone. The requirements in order to win the case are pretty high - you need:
1. A statement of fact. An opinion (Peggy Sue is a floozy) isn't a statement of fact. It's an opinion. However, if Jimmy Jones says that Peggy Sue slept with John Smith, then he's making a statement of fact.
2. A false allegation. Obviously, if it's true, it's not slander. If Peggy Sue did, in fact, sleep with John Smith then Jimmy Jones saying so isn't slander. All he has to do is show proof.
3. Negligence/actual malice (which has nothing to do with the standard definition of the term "malice") - in other words, Jimmy Jones has to
know that what he said was false.
Also, a single instance of someone stating something verbally (i.e. at the dance in Friday night) probably would not rise to the level of defamation. However, if Jimmy took out ads in the local paper to announce to the world his lie that Peggy Sue has been sleeping around, then that would be defamation.
Basically, what makes it difficult for "regular people" to sue for defamation is that there's little opportunity (or reason) to
truly defame a private figure. However, it can happen. In the current mess of post-election suits, an employee of Dominion (a private person, not especially wealthy) is suing several people because they have loudly, publicly, and repeatedly alleged that he helped rig the election for Biden based entirely on the word of one guy who claims that he heard someone who claimed to have the same first name and claimed to work for Dominion say that he was going to make sure Biden won. There's no recording of the conversation, no one can corroborate it, but it's been published as fact all over the right-wing blogosphere. He's got a pretty good case, and I wouldn't be surprised if he wins.