Elton John loses defamation case against The Guardian
Elton John loses defamation case against The Guardian
By Tony Grew • December 12, 2008 - 17:48
The article mocked Sir Elton's charity work
A spoof column satirising gay star Sir Elton John was not defamatory, the High Court in London has ruled.
The singer had claimed the humourous article, by Marina Hyde, made fun of Sir Elton's charity work and joked that he held events such as the White Tie Ball for self-promotion and to meet celebrities and not to raise serious funds.
In the spoof, Sir Elton recounts singing Happy Birthday to former South African President Nelson Mandela, "I love you, you adorable, apartheid-fighting teddy bear."
Sir Elton described the "A Peek At The Diary Of …" column, published on July 5th, as having a "gratuitously offensive, nasty and snide tone."
Mr Justice Tugendhat disagreed.
At an interim judgment hearing today he said: : "the words complained of … could not be understood by a reasonable reader of the Guardian Weekend section as containing the serious allegation pleaded."
Sir Elton, who was seeking damages and an apology, was ordered to pay costs. He may appeal the judgement.
Guardian News & Media, owners of The Guardian, had argued that the article represented a satirical piece of comment rather than a factual account and made an application to strike out the factual meaning of his claim.
Guardian News & Media said in a statement: "We're sorry that Elton John lost his sense of humour over this article.
"The judge - and, we suspect all readers - saw the article for what it was; a piece of mild satire. Newspapers have published satire since the 17th century in this country: the judgment is an important recognition of the right to poke the occasional bit of fun."
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http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-9879.html
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