Blake Shelton Scores Huge Victory In Defamation Lawsuit Ahead Of The Release Of His Duet With Gwen Stefani

Blake Shelton made a big stride this past week in his defamation case against In Touch Weekly. Shelton is suing the magazine’s parent company for $2 million, and a judge recently denied a motion to have the lawsuit dismissed. With the case entering the next stage in the process, Shelton might be set for a major payout.

According to Yahoo TV, Shelton is suing Bauer Publishing Company over headlines it ran back in October. The magazine ran a headline about Shelton going to rehab, which he claims is false and an invasion of his privacy. Along with the rehab headline, the article also asserted that Shelton had cheated on Miranda Lambert.

Bauer Publishing Company attempted to get the case dismissed in February. However, the motion was squashed by a judge, who ruled that “a reasonable person viewing the In Touch headline and sub-headlines — which were located 30 pages away from the Article — might well have concluded that Shelton had, in fact, entered ‘REHAB’ after ‘his friends begged him to stop joking about drinking and get help.'”

Even further, TMZ is reporting that the judge ruled firmly against the magazine’s claim that they were not aware that the story was false. Instead, the judge stated that the magazine knew full well that they were printing a false story.

This is a major step in the lawsuit, which will move forward now that the dismissal has been dropped. It is also a huge win for Shelton, especially considering all of the rumors that circulated after his divorce from Lambert. From here, the lawsuit can now go to trial, where a judge will have the ultimate say on the matter.

Blake Shelton’s legal victory comes just before the release of his upcoming album If I’m Honest. When he opened up about his latest work, Shelton revealed that one of his songs, “Savior’s Shadow,” was written while he was going through a difficult time in life. Although he didn’t elaborate when this took place, it was likely during his emotional break-up with Lambert.

“At a very dark time in my life last year I dreamed the first verse of this song,” he stated. “I woke up and immediately wrote it down. Now, looking back, I know it was God’s way of telling me that he’s here, and things are gonna be OK.”

At the same time, Shelton’s album also features the highly anticipated duet with his current girlfriend, Gwen Stefani. According to People, the song is listed as No. 9 on the album and is titled “Go Ahead and Break My Heart.”

Rumors of a collaboration between the two stars have been in the mix for quite some time. Until now, those reports had not been confirmed. Fortunately, Stefani was the first to break the news much to the delight of fans.

In a post to Twitter, Stefani shared a picture of the back of Shelton’s upcoming album. The image revealed the full list of titles on the album, including her collaboration.

“Look what I found lying round the house!” Stefani wrote alongside the post. “#ispymyname #goaheadandbreakmyheart @blackshelton…”

Look what I found lying round the house! ?#ispymyname #goaheadandbreakmyheart? @blakeshelton #eeeekkkk! #crazy!? Gx pic.twitter.com/ZI0Kz4Ve9j

— Gwen Stefani (@gwenstefani) April 19, 2016

It isn’t clear what the new song is about, although it might offer a few details about Shelton’s steamy romance with Stefani. Although the two are still going strong, a source told People that they are not “putting pressure on themselves” to take their relationship to the next level.

Instead, Shelton and Stefani are “just enjoying life together.” However, all of their close friends envision them having a “long-term future,” which means they could become engaged at any moment.

Shelton’s newest album is set to drop May 20.

Tell us! Do you think Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani will get engaged in 2016? Let us know in the comments below.

[Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images]