Three University of Virginia graduates sue Rolling Stone over debunked rape story

Brett T. | 9:09 PM on July 29, 2015

Rolling Stone magazine made a huge cultural splash with its article “A Rape on Campus,” which recounted in horrific detail the rape of a woman named “Jackie” by the members of a University of Virginia fraternity. Subsequent investigation showed that writer Sabrina Rubin Erdely had never spoken with any of the accused, and the story quickly fell apart from there.

The Phi Kappa Psi fraternity filed suit against Rolling Stone over the story, followed by Nicole Eramo, an associate dean of students at the University of Virginia who heads the university’s sexual misconduct board and was named specifically in Erdely’s piece.

The Washington Post reports today that three individual University of Virginia graduates who were members of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity have also filed suit against Rolling Stone.

3 fraternity members sue Rolling Stone over retracted U-Va. rape story http://t.co/W1e38gTdCM

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 29, 2015

The Washington Post reports that the three fraternity brothers are seeking more than $75,000 for “mental anguish and severe emotional distress” caused by the article. Eramo is asking for $7.85 million in damages.

Just for fun, here’s a tweet from Erdely before her article fell apart, congratulating herself for “nice work” in inspiring campus protests and the suspension of all fraternity activities.