Terry Abrahamson’s Dirty Joke
unprecedented.substack.com
Mar 17, 2022 • 39M
Terry Abrahamson’s Dirty Joke
Do we have a constitutional right to be mean?
Appears in this episode
Matthew S. Schwartz
Michael Vuolo
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Episode details
1 comment
On today’s show, the dirty joke that made it to the Supreme Court.
When asked to pen some biting humor for the pages of Hustler back in 1983, writer Terry Abrahamson took aim at evangelical Christian preacher Jerry Falwell. The result was a vulgar parody of a real Campari ad — though instead of celebrities coyly talking about their “first time” tasting the Italian liqueur, Abrahamson wrote a fictional account of Falwell’s first time having sex (SPOILER: it was in an outhouse, with his own mother). Falwell sued Hustler for intentional infliction of emotional distress, and the Supreme Court had to decide: Does the First Amendment give us the right to parody a public figure?
Terry Abrahamson’s Dirty Joke
Thank you for this episode! I remember reading the ad parody when it came out, and thinking: 1) it was hilarious, and 2) it was necessary. Falwell had been saying a lot of mean things about everyone who disagreed with his politics, so he needed to be knocked down a peg or two, which is the highest purpose of satire. I have always seen this as one of the most glorious justifications of the American approach to free speech. I didn't care for Hustler or Larry Flynt, but I don't require my heroes to be spotless. He earned a spot in America's pantheon. Terry, too, now that I know he wrote it.