The "New York Times" standard focused too heavily on the truth of the statement at issue for the Fourth Circuit, it was enough that Virginia law required the defendant to act intentionally. Sullivan", ussc|376|254|1964, applied in cases of intentional infliction of emotional distress where the plaintiff was a public figure, as Falwell concededly was. The Fourth Circuit affirmed, rejecting Flynt's argument that the actual-malice standard of " New York Times Company v. A jury found in favor of Flynt on the libel claim, but found in favor of Falwell on the intentional infliction of emotional distress charge, and awarded Falwell $150'000 in damages.įlynt appealed to the Fourth Circuit. Before trial, the court granted Flynt's motion for summary judgment on the invasion of privacy claim, and the remaining two charges proceeded to trial. You don’t think I could lay down all that bullshit "sober", do you?" The ad carried a disclaimer in small print at the bottom of the page, reading "ad parody-not to be taken seriously." The magazine's table of contents also listed the ad as "Fiction Ad and Personality Parody."įalwell sued Flynt, "Hustler" magazine, and Flynt's distributing company in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia for libel, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Finally, when asked if he had tried Campari since, "Falwell" answered, "I always get sloshed before I go out to the pulpit. The Hustler parody featured a picture of Falwell, and an "interview" in which "Falwell" describes his first sexual experience as occurring “with Mom” in an outhouse while both were "drunk off our God-fearing asses on Campari." In the spoof interview, "Falwell" goes on to say that he was so intoxicated that "Mom looked better than a Baptist whore with a $100 donation," that he decided to have sex with his mother since she had "showed all the other guys in town such a good time," and that they had intercourse regularly afterwards. The real ads were tongue-in-cheek interviews with celebrities talking about their “first time.” The ads played off a double entendre, with the headline ("“X talks about his first time”") and the interview first sounding like a discussion of the star’s first sexual experience, then revealing that the discussion actually concerned the subject's first time trying Campari. The satire at issue was a takeoff of an advertising campaign for Campari, an Italian apéritif. In a parody of a magazine advertisement for a popular alcoholic drink, "Hustler" described a drunk Falwell having an incestuous encounter with his mother in an outhouse. While "Hustler" has always been known for its explicit – even gynecological – pictures of nude women and for its crude humor, the prominent fundamentalist Protestant minister Jerry Falwell found nothing funny about satire the magazine printed in 1983 targeted at him. Larry Flynt is said to have contributed to the rise of the sexual revolution in the United States by publishing " Hustler" magazine. Once the decision was reached "Hustler" magazine's parody of Jerry Falwell was deemed to be within the law, leading to a reversal of the jury verdict in favor of Falwell, who had previously been awarded $150'000 in damages by a lower court. 46 ( 1988), the United States Supreme Court held, in a unanimous 8-0 decision (Justice Kennedy took no part in the consideration or decision of the case), that the First Amendment's free-speech guarantee prohibits awarding damages to public figures to compensate for emotional distress intentionally inflicted upon them. JoinMajority=Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens, O'Connor, Scalia Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed. Holding=The creators of parodies of public figures are protected against civil liability by the First Amendment, unless the parody includes false statements of fact made in knowing or reckless disregard of the truth.
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