A CTV Regina news anchor has filed a defamation suit against a local newspaper over its criticism of comments he made about Alberta-born singer k.d. lang's resemblance to actor Charlie Sheen. Manfred Joehnck (pictured) is suing Hullabaloo Publishing Workers Co-operative Ltd., publishers of a give-away newspaper called Prairie Dog as well as a web-based version. The suit also names Prairie Dog editor Stephen Whitworth and writer Aidan Morgan. Joehnck and sports anchor Chris Hodges were engaging in banter during a broadcast and Joehnck suggested "the older (lang) gets, the more she looks like Charlie Sheen." The suit alleges that a short time later Morgan posted a blog in which he suggested Joehnck was "snickering over lang's appearance and out-there sexuality," and was mocking her for being "a woman who doesn't fit with the beauty standards of our age." In the statement of claim, Joehnck's lawyer, Tony Merchant, says Morgan wrongly assumed the exchange between the anchors was critical of lang's sexual orientation. "In fact, Mr. Joehnck merely intended to make the humorous observation that a man, Charlie Sheen, and a woman, k.d. lang, looked very much alike," said the suit.
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