Hustler Magazine Inc et al v Jerry Falwell
Argued December 2, 1987 Decided February 24, 1988 The inside front cover of the November 1983 issue of Hustler Magazine featured a "parody" of an advertisement for Campari Liqueur that contained the name and picture of Reverend Jerry Falwell and was entitled "Jerry Falwell talks about his first time. ... " Copying the form and layout of these Campari ads, Hustlers editors chose Falwell as the featured celebrity and drafted an alleged "interview" with him in which he states that his "first time" was during a drunken incestuous rendezvous with his mother in an outhouse. The Hustler parody portrays Falwell and his mother as drunk and immoral, and suggests that respondent is a hypocrite who preaches only when he is drunk. ... " Soon after the November issue of Hustler became available to the public, Falwell brought this diversity action in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia against Hustler Magazine, Inc. ... Falwell stated in his complaint that publication of the ad parody in Hustler entitled him to recover damages for libel, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. ... Hustler Magazine and Larry C. Flynt v. Jerry Falwell Significance: The ruling in this case allowed the press freedom to publish subject matter that some people find objectionable in order to protect free political speech. The issue at hand was whether a cartoon parody published by Hustler Magazine was libelous or not. Larry Flynt, owner of Hustler Magazine, received First Amendment protection for his 1983 parody advertisement, "Jerry Falwell talks about his first time.