I Know You Are, But What Am I?

I posted a piece on October 19 about an anonymous actress who was suing the movie Web site iMDB and its parent company Amazon.com, for posting her real birth date. Now, iMDB and Amazon have come out swinging in their defense. According to the Hollywood Reporter, IMDB filed a motion to dismiss this week, claiming that before she filed suit, the actress tried to persuade iMDB to post a phony birth date on her profile. According to its motion to dismiss, iMDB has a duty not to perpetuate a fraud. It calls the case a “frivolous abuse of this court’s resources.” Apparently, iMDB has gotten criticism from some groups, including the Screen Actors Guild for its position. The critics think iMDB is facilitating age discrimination. I’m not so sure. I suspect it is harder for older actresses to get good roles. And that is not a good thing. But it doesn’t justify lying. And it doesn’t permit shooting the messenger.