Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland Cites Album Review in Defamation Suit Against Indie Singer Ex-Wife

Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland is suing his ex-wife Carré Callaway, aka indie singer Queen Kwong, for defamation, and he is citing an album review in his lawsuit.

Borland and Callaway split up in 2019, and the defamation suit stems from a 2020 divorce agreement that prevented both parties from publicly speaking or giving interviews that “defame the other.”

Borland’s suit cites a Bandcamp Daily article about Callaway, who was interviewed for the piece. In the article, Callaway openly discusses details surrounding the divorce, claiming that Borland gave her three days to leave their Detroit-area home with several rescue cats, one of which died in the process.

The same writer of the Bandcamp Daily article then penned a review of Queen Kwong’s new album Couples Only for Flood Magazine. Citing the interview with Callaway, the review suggested that one song, “Emdr Atm,” “details the kind of purported ‘gaslighting’ Ms. Callaway claims she received from Mr. Borland.” The review goes on to state that Callaway was “ostracized by those in the music industry who felt they stood more to gain by being friends with Borland than with her.”

According to Borland’s lawsuit, “These statements intentionally do what Ms. Callaway was expressly prohibited from doing: They adversely affect Mr. Borland’s public image and reputation that he has built over a twenty-plus–year career” and are an attempt at “destroying Mr. Borland’s extraordinary and hard-earned professional reputation.” The suit asks for $5,000 for “costs and attorney fees” and for the court to sanction Callaway.

Callaway has since shared a statement with Rolling Stone:

“The TRUTH CANNOT BE DEFAMATORY. This action is simply a tactic to bully, intimidate, and silence me. This is an attempt to financially ruin me, exhaust my physical well-being and denigrate my credibility with the explicit intent of causing harm to my career. This is an overall attack on freedom of speech and artistic expression. What does it mean for indie musicians like myself —who can’t afford to even tour these days — to have to worry about fighting frivolous lawsuits. What does it mean for women who are already afraid to tell their stories? What does it mean for journalists if their words can be spun to silence the very women they’re trying to give a platform to?”

Borland’s attorney B. Andrew Rifkin also offered a statement to Rolling Stone, part of which read:

“Mr. Borland wishes Ms. Callaway the best in her career. He does not wish to limit her artistic expression, but as part of their divorce settlement, both parties agreed to keep their opinions about their divorce private and refrain from making negative public comments about the other party.”

A judge for the third judicial circuit of Michigan’s Wayne County, the family division court, was set to hear Borland’s petition this morning (January 17th).

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