Pop star wins payout for 'vampire' comment

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MOSCOW, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- A Russian news organization was ordered to pay $3,200 in libel damages to a pop singer after a headline asked if she was a "vampire."

A Moscow court Friday ordered Sobesyednik Media to pay the sum to Elena Vaenga (real name Elena Khrulyova), RIA Novosti reported.

The singer contended a headline reading "Is Vaenga a vampire" was libelous.

"The court has partially satisfied the claim of Khrulyova's lawsuit against Sobesednik Media and ordered the newspaper to pay her 100,000 rubles ($3,200) in damages," a court spokesman said.

The lawsuit had sought $200,000 compensation for moral damage from the article.

It said Sobesednik had called the singer a "witch" in a separate article.

"Vaenga has extrasensory and healer skills. She was taught them by her husband's relatives, who are Gypsies," an article read, citing her song "Confession of witch" as evidence.

Vaenga won $5,000 in libel damages from Russian newspaper Tolko Zvyozdy last month for reporting that she was pregnant.