Word: hustlers
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...ever accused Hustler of good taste. Even so, it would require a tough hide not to be offended by the ad parody that it first ran in 1983. Taking off on a Campari Liqueur campaign that featured celebrities reminiscing about their "first time" -- with the drink, that is -- Hustler ran a spoof that portrayed the Rev. Jerry Falwell as a drunkard whose first sexual encounter was a tryst with his mother in an outhouse. Outrageous? Yes. Funny? Hardly. Plausible? No. But just in case, small print at the foot of the page warned the less discerning reader, "Ad parody...
They can rest easier now. Last week the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected Falwell's argument in terms that decisively reaffirmed First Amendment protections. Falwell had argued that "outrageous" parody like Hustler's should not be given the protection that more conventional satire and cartooning deserved. But while acknowledging that the ad was "gross and repugnant in the eyes of most," Chief Justice William Rehnquist said for the court that to define and penalize the outrageous would require some very fine judgments, allowing jurors to award damages on the basis of their personal taste or "their dislike of a particular...
...parody under discussion last week was aimed not at a Founding Father but at the Rev. Jerry Falwell. In 1983 Hustler magazine had portrayed Falwell in a drunken rendezvous with his mother. Although a lower-court jury cleared Publisher Larry Flynt of libel because the statements were so ridiculous that no one took them as fact, it awarded Falwell $200,000 for his "emotional distress." Despite Hustler's sleazy nature, other publications have joined in support of the appeal. Reason: the legal concept of "emotional distress" might allow public figures to sue the authors of any critical commentary based...
...question that has yet to be asked or answered in this ungodly circus of sleaze is: why was Jerry Falwell reading Hustler on the airplane in the first place? Was he perusing its interesting and informative articles? Was he, as an amateur photographer, looking for lighting ideas? Or was he searching for authoritative news on his old friend, Jim Bakker...
REPORTS on the progress of the trial indicate that some of the participants are finding amusement at the goings-on. Laughter erupted when Flynt's attorney claimed that the intent of Hustler was simply to "Bring (Falwell) down to our level." And Flynt himself argued, "I think the First Amendment gives me the right to be offensive...