PressEthic

MySpace may prove to be the downfall of Justin Seay, more commonly known as one of the inebriated Chi Psi fraternity boys in the hit comedy Borat. A piece on Salon.com explains:

The evil genius researchers at the Smoking Gun have dug up the MySpace page of one of the two plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the makers of "Borat." Justin Seay, one of the two frat brothers to sue Twentieth Century Fox over the film, claims in the suit that he signed his waiver after "heavy drinking" and was told the film would never show in the U.S., but his MySpace profile certainly paints the picture of a young man used to his alcohol: Seay lists "gettin' drunk and havin' a good time" as a primary hobby, and a friend writes, "Hey Hey Justin Seay, Drinks like a fish everyday!" (In photos from his profile, Seay is pictured with a drink in hand in nearly every shot.)

Sacha Baron Cohen certainly caused a considerable amount of controversy by traipsing across the United States as Borat Sagdiev. In character as a reporter from Kazakhstan, Cohen interviewed unsuspecting Americans for what turned out not to be a news report, but an American box-office smash. The repercussions of this satirical comedy, staged as a documentary, have been far-reaching, as several of Borat's subjects have found themselves in hot water because of their actions on-camera.

Seay is among those affected by the negative portrayal. Citing his MySpace page as evidence, the Smoking Gun questions Seay's credibility:

As a result, Seay/Doe claims that he has suffered humiliation, mental anguish, and emotional and mental distress, for which he wants to be paid damages. We'll let the courts handle those claims, but Seay--pictured above in a still from the movie--does not seem like an amateur when it comes to partying.

Not only do employers and educators scour the pages of MySpace and Facebook to check up on potential candidates for hire and admission, but it seems that in this case a person's credibility may be at stake in the courtroom.

Both social networking sites have created a frenzy for the online generation, but it is becoming more and more necessary that users use discretion in creating their personal pages.

In the case of Justin Seay, what may have seemed to be innocent pictures of him and his friends enjoying themselves while consuming alcohol may, instead, turn out to be incriminating evidence that hurts his character and no doubt haunts him. I'm not sure whether Seay's case will hold up, but the internet, once again, succeeds in making everything a little bit more complicated.