Morrissey granted the chance to legally prove the NME libeled him by printing his racist comments

The stage is now set for the first U.K. libel trial before a jury in more than two years, thanks to a ruling by the improbably (but awesomely) named judge Justice Tugendhat granting Morrissey libel proceedings against the NME. As we've previously reported, Morrissey is suing the British music magazine over a 2007 interview where the former Smiths singer bemoaned the impact of immigrants on England's cultural identity. While Morrissey's comments certainly hurt his reputation due to their racist overtones, it's not clear whether he's disputing that he actually said those things, especially considering his subsequent public statements about, oh, the Chinese being a subspecies. The trial is expected to begin sometime in 2012. [via Rolling Stone]