I mention in my libel notes (now updated) the Liberace case as an example of fact and comment. Liberace sued the Daily Mirror and won. It is a famous case that makes a lot of issues clear. The Mirror were sure they were safe because - although the article very rude and insulting - it is pure comment ('ie bollo...) and therefore protected. But the jury thought that the comment carried the INNUENDO that Liberace was homosexual. It is prima facie defamatory to say of anyone that they are homosexual, even if they have consented to having this said about them. The consent is is only a defence, it does not render an allegation of homosexuality non-defamatory prima facie. It is a famous case which is discuss in my fantastic book Tabloid nation (which is a history of the Daily Mirror - the first red top tabloid - and the tabloids in general). I think the Mirror was very unlucky to be sued for libel, but Liberace's lawyer was able to convince the jury that all this comment - taken together - amounted to a cold blooded factual assertion that Liberace was homosexual. The Mirror could not prove that so they lost. A further dimension is that Liberace was indeed homosexual and later admitted the fact in his autobiography. The point is that even somebody as obviously homosexual as Liberace can sue for libel, even when the fact of his homosexuality is merely implied (innuedo). It is a cracking good case, and the piece a beautifully written piece of comment (we will discuss under the heading of feature writing) by one of the all-time champs of feature writing/comment writing Cassandra (deceased). It is worth re-printing the piece which is so marvellously violent and vitriolic it is worthy of an Emile Zola or an HL Mencken. You can see where contemporary 'shock jobk' types get all from. You just get a second hand copy of Cassandra's greatest hits and adapt them for contemporary times in the say way that contemporary pop music people are just using the same jazz andblues riffs from the '50s and updating them somewhat. Well that's my opinion anyway.
========
Here are some excerpts:
"(Liberace) is the summit of sex - the pinnacle of masculine, feminine, and neuter. Everything that he, she and it can ever want.
I spoke to sad but kindly men on this newspaper who have met every celebrity coming from America for the past 30 years. They say that this deadly, winking, sniggering, snuggling, chromium-plated, scent-impregnated, luminous, quivering, giggling, fruit-flavored, mincing, ice-covered heap of mother love has had the biggest reception and impact on London since Charlie Chaplin arrived at the same station, Waterloo, on September 12,1921.
This appalling man - and I use the word appalling in no other than its true sense of terrifying - has hit this country in a way that is as violent as Churchill receiving the cheers on V-E Day.
He reeks with emetic language that can only make grown men long for a quiet corner, an aspidistra, a handkerchief, and the old heave-ho. Without doubt, he is the biggest sentimental vomit of all time. Slobbering over his mother, winking at his brother, and counting the cash at every second, this superb piece of calculating candy-floss has an answer for every situation."
"There must be something wrong with us that our teenagers longing for sex and our middle aged matrons fed up with sex alike should fall for such a sugary mountain of jingling claptrap wrapped up in such a preposterous clown".
Hmmm! She's not bitter!
After 3 1/2 hours of deliberations the jury found William Connor and the Daily Mirror guilty of libel an ordered the Daily Mirror to pay court costs as well as a cash award of $22,400.
It was after winning this case that Liberace coined the now famous phrase "I cried all the way to the bank!"
No comments:
Post a Comment