The Virginia Defamation Law Blog
Christian minister and hard-rocker Bradlee Dean and his non-profit foundation, You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International (YCR), brought a defamation suit against liberal talk show host and commentator Rachel Maddow for comments Maddow made on The Rachel Maddow Show. Maddow is hitting back hard, filing a motion to dismiss under the District of Columbia’s relatively new anti-SLAPP Act. If Maddow’s motion is successful, Dean’s defamation case will not only be dismissed with prejudice, but Maddow will be entitled to recovery of her attorneys’ fees.
The complaint alleges that Maddow disparaged Dean’s physical appearance, first name, profession, and standing in the community and represented that he and YCR advocate the execution of homosexuals. In her commentary (excerpted below), Maddow mentioned that Dean denied having called for the execution of homosexuals, but Dean and YCR contend that Maddow did so begrudgingly and in a way that suggested their denial was disingenuous.
Dean charges Maddow with referring to him as a “bloodthirsty” individual calling for the “upping of the bloodshed in America’s culture wars,” and accusing him of advocating the use of foreign enemies against America because Christians “aren’t doing the job by killing gays and lesbians.” According to the plaintiffs, Maddow’s comments proliferated in the media and led to Dean receiving Internet death threats from gay activists. The plaintiffs contend that Maddow made these comments as a liberal member of the media and lesbian activist in order to harm the presidential campaign of Congresswoman Michelle Bachman to whom Maddow linked Mr. Dean and YCR on several occasions.
Maddow has moved to dismiss the case under D.C.’s Anti-SLAPP law. SLAPP is an acronym for Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation. The D.C. Anti-SLAPP Act of 2010 is designed to discourage frivolous lawsuits aimed at chilling the exercise of free speech rights. Virginia does not have an anti-SLAPP statute, and the law in D.C. did not become effective until March 31, 2011.
In her motion, Maddow gives three reasons why Mr. Dean’s lawsuit should fail: 1) Maddow merely abridged and replayed original audio of Dean speaking on his own radio show; therefore, Dean cannot claim that he did not make the statements, and the fact that she abridged the original audio is irrelevant; 2) Maddow’s commentary on Dean’s statements is classic opinion and rhetorical hyperbole–fanciful language that may be exaggerated but is not grounds for a defamation suit; and 3) the fair comment privilege protects Maddow’s commentary–the broadcasts featured Dean’s actual statements and indicated the source of those statements such that viewers were free to make up their own minds regarding Maddow’s remarks. Maddow contends that Dean’s lawsuit is without merit and was instead filed to further his self-described mission to stop the “radical gay agenda.” She asks the court to punish Dean for filing the suit by dismissing it and granting legal fees.
This is one to watch…stay tuned.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBjfLTOYGXw