A federal appeals court last week rejected a libel lawsuit filed against Harvard and The Crimson by a former University employee, upholding a lower court’s ruling.

A three-judge U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals panel affirmed a 2020 ruling by a lower court, throwing out a suit filed by ex-Harvard employee Eric Clopper.

Clopper sued the University and The Crimson for defamation and libel in 2020 and alleged that both parties violated the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act. Harvard fired Clopper from a position at Lamont Library’s Language Resource Center following a 2018 performance at Sanders Theatre in which he criticized circumcision.

Clopper, who identifies as Jewish, stripped naked during the performance and referred to Judaism as “an unmasked genital mutilation cult.” Clopper alleged in his suit that The Crimson’s May 3, 2018, headline — which labeled the performance a “Nude, Anti-Semitic Rant” — was false and libelous. He also accused the University of unjustly firing him and conspiring with The Crimson to defame him. (The Crimson is financially and editorially independent from Harvard.)

A federal district judge dismissed Clopper’s claims in 2020. The appeals court panel upheld the dismissal on Monday, rejecting the suit’s libel and labor rights claims.

In a three-page ruling, the judges — William J. Kayatta, Jeffrey R. Howard and Gustavo A. Gelpí — wrote that Clopper could “be terminated for any reason or for no reason” by Harvard because he was an at-will employee...

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