Ecdysiast, Her? I Don't Even Know Her!

The widow of boxer Arturo Gatti is suing the New York Daily News, the New York Post and mens' magazine Maxim, claiming they libeled her by referring to her as an ex-stripper.

Amanda Rodrigues

Amanda Carine Barbosa Rodrigues of Elizabeth was in the headlines in July 2009 when her husband, boxer Arturo Gatti, died at a resort in Brazil. She was initially detained by police but Gatti's death was later declared a suicide.

The Post referred to the plaintiff as "Arturo Gatti's stripper wife," while the Daily News called her "a former exotic dancer" who met Gatti while she was performing pole and table dances at The Squeeze Lounge, a "gentleman's club" in Weehawken. Maxim said Rodrigues stripped down to a G-string and bikini top at the club and said she was not a prostitute but was "a practiced hustler" who knew how to get patrons to give $100 tips.

Rodrigues says in the suit, filed last Monday in federal court in Trenton, that her reputation was harmed because the articles and headlines "clearly accuse plaintiff of engaging in immoral activities" and "pertain to the unchastity of a female."

Her lawyer, Mark Casazza of Rudnick, Addonizio & Pappa in Hazlet, says it's a case of libel per se. "Attaching those comments to her photos speaks for itself," he says.

Nora Haynes, public relations director for Maxim publisher Alpha Media Group, said the company would not comment on pending litigation. Messages left with the Post and Daily News ...